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THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY 
LAKE  TAHOE 


THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY 

LAKE  TAHOE 

IN  THE  HIGH  SIERRAS  OF 
CALIFORNIA  AND  NEVADA 

ITS  HISTORY,  INDIANS,  DISCOVERY  BY  FREMONT, 
LEGENDARY  LORE,  VARIOUS  NAMINGS,  PHYSICAL 
CHARACTERISTICS,  GLACIAL  PHENOMENA,  GEOLOGY, 
SINGLE  OUTLET,  AUTOMOBILE  ROUTES,  HISTORIC 
TOWNS,  EARLY  MINING  EXCITEMENTS,  STEAMER 
RIDE,  MINERAL  SPRINGS,  MOUNTAIN  AND  LAKE 
RESORTS,  TRAIL  AND  CAMPING  OUT  TRIPS,  SUMMER 
RESIDENCES,  FISHING,  HUNTING,  FLOWERS,  BIRDS, 
ANIMALS,  TREES  AND  CHAPPARAL,  WITH  A  FULL 
ACCOUNT  OP  THE  TAHOE  NATIONAL  FOREST,  THE 
PUBLIC  USE  OF  THE  WATER  OP  LAKE  TAHOE  AND 
MUCH    OTHER    INTERESTING    MATTER. 

BY 

GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES 

AUTHOR    OF 

"  In  and  Around  the  Grand  Canyon,"  "  In  and  Out  of  the  Old 

Missions  of  California,"  "  The  Wonders  of  the  Colorado 

Desert,"    "  Through    Ramona's    Country,"    "  The 

Indians    of    the    Painted    Desert    Region," 

**  California,   Romantic  and  Beautiful," 

etc.,    etc. 


1915 

GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES 

1098  N.  Raymond  Ave.,  Pasadena,  Calif. 


Copyright,  1915, 
By  Edith  E.  Farnsworth 


All  Rights  Reserved 


J.   F.  TAPLEY  CO. 

NEW    YOHK 


«!■ 


ROBERT  M.  WATSON 

(To  his  friends  "Bob") 

Fearless  Explorer,  Expert  Mountaineer, 
Peerless  Guide,  Truthful  Fisherman, 
Humane    Hunter,    Delightful  Ra- 
conteur,   True-hearted    Gentle- 
man, Generous  Communicator 
of  a  large  and  varied  Knowl- 
edge,   Brother     to     Man 
and  Beast  and  Devoted 
Friend, 

AND  TO  ANOTHER, 

though  younger  brother  of 
the  same  craft 

RICHARD  MICHAELIS 

These  Pages  are  Cordially  Dedicated 

with  the  Author's  High  Esteem 

and  Affectionate  Regards. 


X 


"BOB"  WATSON,  TAHOE  GUIDE,  AT   lloMi:,   \\riii    ms   Doc, 
SKOOKUM   70HN 


INTRODUCTION 

California  is  proving  itself  more  and  more  the  wonder- 
land of  the  United  States.  Its  hosts  of  annual  visitors  are 
increasing  with  marvelous  rapidity;  its  population  is  grow- 
ing by  accretions  from  the  other  states  faster  than  any  other 
section  in  the  civilized  world.  The  reasons  are  not  far  to 
seek.  They  may  be  summarized  in  five  words,  viz.,  climate, 
topography,  healthfulness,  productiveness  and  all-around 
liveableness.  Its  climate  is  already  a  catch  word  to  the  na- 
tions; its  healthfulness  is  attested  by  the  thousands  who 
have  come  here  sick  and  almost  hopeless  and  who  are  now 
rugged,  robust  and  happy;  its  productiveness  is  demon- 
strated by  the  millions  of  dollars  its  citizens  annually  re- 
ceive for  the  thousands  of  car-loads  (one  might  almost  say 
train-loads)  of  oranges,  lemons,  grape-fruit,  walnuts,  alm- 
onds, peaches,  figs,  apricots,  onions,  potatoes,  asparagus  and 
other  fruits  of  its  soil;  and  its  all-around  home  qualities  are 
best  evidenced  by  the  growth,  in  two  or  three  decades,  of 
scores  of  towns  from  a  merely  nominal  population  to  five, 
ten,  twenty,  forty  or  fifty  thousand,  and  of  the  cities  of  San 
Francisco,  Los  Angeles  and  Oakland  to  metropolises,  the 
two  former  already  claiming  populations  of  half  a  million 
or  thereabouts. 

As  far  as  its  topography,  its  scenic  qualities,  are  con- 
cerned, the  world  of  tourists  already  has  rendered  any 
argument  upon  that  line  unnecessary.  It  is  already  begin- 
ning to  rival  Switzerland,  though  that  Alpine  land  has 
crowded  populations  within  a  day's  journey  to  draw  from. 


vili  INTRODUCTION 

One  has  but  to  name  Monterey,  the  Mt.  Shasta  region, 
Los  Angeles,  San  Diego  and  Coronado,  the  Yosemite,  Lake 
Tahoe,  the  Big  Trees,  the  King  and  Kern  River  Divide, 
Mono  Lake  and  a  score  of  other  scenic  regions  in  Cali- 
fornia to  start  tongues  to  vv^agging  over  interesting  reminis- 
cences, whether  it  be  in  London,  Paris,  Berlin,  Madrid  or 
Petrograd. 

Books  galore  are  being  published  to  make  California's 
charms  better  known,  and  it  has  long  seemed  strange  to 
me  that  no  book  has  been  published  on  Lake  Tahoe  and  its 
surrounding  country  of  mountains,  forests,  glacial  valleys, 
lakes  and  canyons,  for  I  am  confident  that  in  one  or  two  de- 
cades from  now  its  circle  of  admirers  and  regular  visitors 
will  include  people  from  all  over  the  civilized  world,  all  of 
whom  will  declare  that  it  is  incomparable  as  a  lake  resort, 
and  that  its  infinite  variety  of  charm,  delight  and  health- 
ful allurement  can  never  adequately  be  told. 

Discovered  by  the  "  Pathfinder  "  Fremont ;  described  in 
the  early  days  of  California  history  and  literature  by  John 
Le  Conte,  Mark  Twain,  Thomas  Starr  King,  Ben  C.  Tru- 
man, and  later  by  John  Vance  Cheney  and  others;  for 
countless  centuries  the  fishing  haunt  of  the  peaceable  Ne- 
vada JVashoes,  who  first  called  it  Tahoe  —  High  or  Clear 
Water  —  and  of  the  California  Monos;  the  home  of 
many  of  their  interesting  legends  and  folk-lore  tales;  occa- 
sionally the  scene  of  fierce  conflicts  between  the  defending 
Indians  and  those  who  would  drive  them  away,  it  early  be- 
came the  object  of  the  jealous  and  inconsequent  squabbling 
of  politicians.  Its  discoverer  had  named  it  Mountain  Lake, 
or  Lake  Bonpland,  the  latter  name  after  the  traveling  and 
exploring  companion  of  Baron  von  Humboldt,  whose  name 
is  retained  in  the  Humboldt  River  of  Nevada,  but  when  the 
first  reasonably  accurate  survey  of  its  shores  was  made,  John 
Bigler  was  the  occupant  of  the  gubernatorial  chair  of  the 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

State  of  California  and  it  was  named  after  him.  Then, 
later,  for  purely  political  reasons,  it  was  changed  to  Tahoe, 
and  finally  back  to  Bigler,  which  name  it  still  officially  re- 
tains, though  of  the  thousands  who  visit  it  annually  but  a 
very  small  proportion  have  ever  heard  that  such  a  name 
was  applied  to  it. 

In  turn,  soon  after  its  discovery,  Tahoe  became  the  scene 
of  a  rnining  excitement  that  failed  to  "  pan  out,"  the  home 
of  vast  logging  and  lumber  operations  and  the  objective 
point  to  which  several  famous  "  Knights  of  the  Lash  "  drove 
world-noted  men  and  women  in  swinging  Concord  coaches. 
In  summer  it  is  the  haunt  of  Nature's  most  dainty,  glorious, 
and  alluring  picturesqueness ;  in  winter  the  abode,  during 
some  days,  of  the  Storm  King  with  his  cohorts  of  hosts  of 
clouds,  filled  with  rain,  hail,  sleet  and  snow,  of  fierce  winds, 
of  dread  lightnings,  of  majestic  displays  of  rudest  power. 
Suddenly,  after  having  covered  peak  and  slope,  meadow  and 
shore,  with  snow  to  a  depth  of  six,  eight,  ten  or  more  feet, 
the  Storm  King  retires  and  Solus  again  reigns  supreme. 
And  then!  ah,  then  is  the  time  to  see  Lake  Tahoe  and  its 
surrounding  country.  The  placid  summer  views  are  ex- 
quisite and  soul-stirring,  but  what  of  Tahoe  now?  The 
days  and  nights  are  free  from  wind  and  frost,  the  sun  tem- 
pers the  cold  and  every  hour  is  an  exhilaration.  The  Ameri- 
can people  have  not  yet  learned,  as  have  the  Europeans  in 
the  Alps,  the  marvelous  delights  and  stimulations  of  the 
winter  in  such  a  place  as  Lake  Tahoe.  But  they  will  learn 
in  time,  and  though  a  prophet  is  generally  without  honor 
in  his  own  country,  I  will  assume  a  role  not  altogether 
foreign,  and  venture  the  assertion  that  I  shall  live  to  see 
the  day  when  winter  visitors  to  Lake  Tahoe  will  number 
more  than  those  who  will  visit  it  throughout  the  whole  of 
the  year  (1914)  in  which  I  write.  One  of  the  surprises 
often  expressed  by  those  I  have  met  here  who  have  wintered 


X  INTRODUCTION 

in  the  Alps  is  that  no  provision  is  made  for  hotel  accommo- 
dation during  the  winter  at  Lake  Tahoe. 

To  return,  however,  to  the  charms  of  Tahoe  that  are 
already  known  to  many  thousands.  Within  the  last  two  or 
three  decades  it  has  become  the  increasingly  popular  Mecca 
of  the  hunter,  sportsman,  and  fisherman ;  the  natural  haunt 
of  the  thoughtful  and  studious  lover  of  God's  great  and 
varied  out-of-doors,  and,  since  fashionable  hotels  were 
built,  the  chosen  resort  of  many  thousands  of  the  wealthy, 
pleasure-loving  and  luxurious.  What  wonder  that  there 
should  be  a  growing  desire  on  the  part  of  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States  —  and  especially  of  California  and  Ne- 
vada—  together  with  well-informed  travelers  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  for  larger  knowledge  and  fuller  infor- 
mation about  Lake  Tahoe  than  has  hitherto  been  available. 

To  meet  this  laudable  desire  has  been  my  chief  incite- 
ment in  the  preparation  of  the  following  pages,  but  I 
should  be  untrue  to  my  own  devotion  to  Lake  Tahoe,  which 
has  extended  over  a  period  of  more  than  thirty  years,  were  I 
to  ignore  the  influence  the  Lake's  beauty  has  had  over  me, 
and  the  urge  it  has  placed  within  me.  Realizing  and  feel- 
ing these  emotions  I  have  constantly  asked  with  Edward 
Rowland  Sill: 

What  can  I  for  such  a  world  give  back  again? 

And  my  only  answer  has  been,  and  is,  this: 

Could    I   only   hint   the   beauty  — 
Some  least  shadow  of  the  beauty, 
Unto  men! 

In  looking  over  the  files  of  more  or  less  ephemeral  litera- 
ture, as  well  as  the  records  of  the  explorations  of  early 
days,  I  have  been  astonished  at  the  rich  treasures  of  scien- 
tific and  descriptive  literature  that  have  Lake  Tahoe  as  their 
object.     Not    the    least   service    this   unpretentious   volume 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

will  accomplish  is  the  gathering  together  of  these  little- 
known  jewels. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  I  have  used  the  word  Sierran  rather 
than  Alpine  throughout  these  pages.  Why  not?  Why 
should  the  writer,  describing  the  majestic,  the  glorious,  the 
sublime  of  the  later-formed  mountain  ranges  of  earth, 
designate  them  by  a  term  coined  for  another  and  far-away 
range  ? 

I  would  have  the  reader,  however,  be  careful  to  pro- 
nounce it  accurately.  It  is  not  Sy-eer-an,  but  See-ehr-ran, 
almost  as  if  one  were  advising  another  to  "  See  Aaron,"  the 
brother  of  Moses. 

Tahoe  is  not  Teh-e,  nor  is  it  Tah-ho,  nor  Tah-o.  The 
Washoe  Indians,  from  whom  we  get  the  name,  pronounce 
it  as  if  it  were  one  syllable  Tao,  like  a  Chinese  name,  the 
"  a  "  having  the  broad  sound  ah  of  the  Continent. 

Likewise  Tallac  is  not  pronounced  with  the  accent  on 
the  last  syllable  (as  is  generally  heard),  but  Tal-ac. 

WTiile  these  niceties  of  pronunciation  are  not  of  vast  im- 
portance, they  preserve  to  us  the  intonations  of  the  original 
inhabitants,  who,  as  far  as  we  know,  were  the  first  human 
beings  to  gaze  upon  the  face  of  this  ever-glorious  and  beau- 
tiful Lake. 

When  Mark  Twain  and  Thomas  Starr  King  visited 
Tahoe  it  was  largely  in  Its  primitive  wildness,  though  log- 
ging operations  for  the  securing  of  timber  for  the  mines  of 
Virginia  City  had  been  going  on  for  some  time  and  had 
led  to  the  settlement  at  Glenbrook  (where  four  great  saw 
mills  were  in  constant  operation  so  long  as  weather  per- 
mitted), and  the  stage-road  from  Placerville  to  Virginia 
City  demanded  stopping-stations,  as  Myers,  Yanks,  Row- 
lands and  Lakeside. 

But  to-day,  while  the  commercial  operations  have  largely 
ceased,  the  scenic  attractions  of  Lake  Tahoe  and  its  region 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

have  justified  the  erection  of  over  twenty  resorts  and 
camps,  at  least  two  of  them  rivaling  in  extent  and  elaborate- 
ness of  plant  any  of  the  gigantic  resort  hotels  of  either  the 
Atlantic  or  Pacific  coasts,  the  others  varying  in  size  and 
degree,  according  to  the  class  of  patronage  they  seek.  That 
these  provisions  for  the  entertainment  of  travelers,  yearly 
visitors,  and  health  seekers  will  speedily  increase  with  the 
years  there  can  be  no  doubt,  for  there  is  but  one  Lake 
Tahoe,  and  its  lovers  will  ultimately  be  legion.  Already, 
also,  it  has  begun  to  assert  itself  as  a  place  of  summer  resi- 
dence. Fifteen  years  ago  private  residences  on  Lake  Tahoe 
might  have  been  enumerated  on  the  fingers  of  the  two 
hands;  now  they  number  as  many  hundreds,  and  the  sound 
of  the  hammer  and  saw  is  constantly  heard,  and  dainty 
villas,  bungalows,  cottages,  and  rustic  homes  are  springing 
up  as  if  by  magic. 

Then  Lake  Tahoe  was  comparatively  hard  to  reach. 
"Now,  the  trains  of  the  Southern  Pacific  and  the  Lake  Tahoe 
Railway  and  Transportation  Company  deposit  one  on  the 
very  edge  of  the  Lake  easier  and  with  less  personal  exer- 
tion than  is  required  to  go  to  and  from  any  large  metropoli- 
tan hotel  in  one  city  to  a  similar  hotel  in  another  city. 

It  is  almost  inevitable  that  in  such  a  book  as  this  there 
should  be  some  repetition.  Just  as  one  sees  the  same  peaks 
and  lakes,  shore-line  and  trees  from  different  portions  of 
the  Lake  —  though,  of  course,  at  slightly  or  widely  differing 
angles  —  so  in  writing,  the  attention  of  the  reader  naturally 
is  called  again  and  again  to  the  same  scenes.  But  this  book 
is  written  not  so  much  with  an  eye  to  its  literary  quality, 
as  to  afford  the  visitor  to  Lake  Tahoe  —  whether  contem- 
plative, actual,  or  retrospective  —  a  truthful  and  compre- 
hensive account  and  description  of  the  Lake  and  its  sur- 
roundings. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  many  places  I  have  capitalized 


INTRODUCTION 


xiu 


the  common  noun  Lake.  Whenever  this  appears  It  signi- 
fies Lake  Tahoe  —  the  chief  of  all  the  lakes  of  the  Sierras. 

While  it  is  very  delightful  to  sit  on  the  veranda  or  in 
the  swinging  seats  of  the  Tavern  lawn,  or  at  the  choice 
nooks  of  all  the  resorts  from  Tahoe  City  completely  around 
the  Lake,  it  is  not  possible  to  write  a  book  on  Lake  Tahoe 
there.  One  must  get  out  and  feel  the  bigness  of  it  all; 
climb  its  mountains,  follow  its  trout  streams;  ride  or  walk 
or  push  one's  way  through  its  leafy  coverts;  dwell  in  the 
shade  of  its  forests;  row  over  its  myriad  of  lakes;  study  its 
geology,  before  he  can  know  or  write  about  Tahoe. 

This  is  what  I  have  done. 

And  this  is  what  I  desire  to  urge  most  earnestly  upon 
my  reader.  Don't  lounge  around  the  hotels  all  the  time. 
Get  all  you  want  of  that  kind  of  recreation;  then  "  go  in  " 
for  the  more  strenuous  fun  of  wandering  and  climbing.  Go 
alone  or  in  company,  afoot  or  horseback,  only  go!  Thus 
will  Tahoe  increase  the  number  of  its  devoted  visitants  and 
my  object  in  writing  these  pages  be  accomplished. 


Tahoe  Tavern,  June  1914. 


i^ 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Introduction vii 

I     Why  "  the  Lake  of  the  Sky  "?     .      .  1-12 
II     Fremont  and  the  Discovery  of  Lake 

Tahoe 13-25 

III  The  Indians  of  Lake  Tahoe  .      .      .  26-38 

IV  Indian  Legends  of  the  Tahoe  Region  39-55 
V     The  Various  Names  of  Lake  Tahoe  .  56-62 

VI     John  Le  Conte's  Physical  Studies  of 

Lake  Tahoe 63-77 

VII     How  Lake  Tahoe  Was  Formed  ,      .  78-81 

VIII     The  Glacial  History  of  Lake  Tahoe  82-101 

IX     The  Lesser  Lakes  of  the  Tahoe  Re- 
gion   and    How   They    Were 

Formed 102-105 

X     Donner   Lake    and    Its   Tragic    His- 
tory       106-110 

XI     Lake  Tahoe  and  the  Truckee  River  .    111-115 
XII     By  Rail  to  Lake  Tahoe     ....    116-120 

XIII  The  Wishbone  Automobile  Route  to 

and   Around   Lake  Tahoe     .    1 21-142 

XIV  Tahoe  Tavern 143-152 

XV     Trail  Trips  in  the  Tahoe  Region     .    153-184 

To  Watson's  Peak  and  Lake   .      .  154 


CHAPTER 


XVi 


XVII 

XVIII 

XIX 

XX 

XXI 

XXII 

XXIII 

XXIV 

XXV 

XXVI 

XXVII 

XXVIII 

XXIX 

XXX 

XXXI 

XXXII 

XXXIII' 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

To  Squaw   Valley,   Granite   Chief 
Peak,    Five    Lakes   and    Deer 

Park  Springs 165 

To  Ellis  Peak 178 

Camping  Out  Trips  in  the  Tahoe  Re- 
gion           185-198 

To    Hell    Hole    and    the    Rubicon 

River 188 

Historic  Tahoe  Towns  ....  199—204 
By  Steamer  Around  Lake  Tahoe      .    205-213 

Deer  Park  Springs 214-217 

Rubicon  Springs 218-221 

Emerald  Bay  and  Camp  ....    222-229 

Al-Tahoe 230-231 

Glen  Alpine  Springs 232-239 

Fallen  Leaf  Lake  and  Its  Resorts      .    240-250 

Lakeside    Park 251-254 

Glenbrook  and  Marlette  Lake  .  .  255-261 
Carnelian    Bay   and   Tahoe    Country 

Club 262-265 

Fishing  in   the  Lakes  of  the  Tahoe 

Region 266-276 

Hunting  at  Lake  Tahoe     .      .      .  277 

The  Flowers  of  the  Tahoe  Region  .  278-284 
The  Chaparral  of  the  Tahoe  Region  285-289 
How  to  Distinguish  the  Trees  of  the 

Tahoe  Region        ....    290-300 
The  Birds  and  Animals  of  the  Tahoe 

Region 301-313 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXXIV     The   Squaw   Valley   Mining   Excite- 
ment         314-319 

XXXV     The    Fremont    Howitzer    and    Lake 

Tahoe 320-326 

XXXVI     The  Mount  Rose  Observatory     .      .   327-331 
XXXVII     Lake  Tahoe  in  Winter     ....   332-337 

Written  by   Dr.  J.  E.   Church,  Jr.,   University  of  Nevada. 

XXXVIII     Lake  Tahoe  as  a  Summer  Residence  .    338-340 
XXXIX     The  Tahoe  National  Forest  .      .      .    341-352 
XL     Public  Use  of  the  Waters  of  Lake 

Tahoe 353-358 


APPENDIX 

A  Mark  Twain  at  Lake  Tahoe      .      .  359-362 

B  Mark  Twain  and  the  Forest  Rangers  363-365 

C  Thomas  Starr  King  at  Lake  Tahoe  .  366-372 

D  Joseph  LeConte  at  Lake  Tahoe  .      .  373-376 

E  John  Vance  Cheney  at  Lake  Tahoe    .  377-380 

F  The  Resorts  of  Lake  Tahoe  .      .      .  381-386 


THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY 
LAKE  TAHOE 

CHAPTER  I 

WHY   "the   lake  of   THE   SKY  "  ? 

LAKE  TAHOE  is  the  largest  lake  at  its  altitude  — 
twenty-three  miles  long  by  thirteen  broad,  6225 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  —  with  but  one  ex- 
ception in  the  world.  Then,  too,  it  closely  resembles  the 
sky  in  its  pure  and  perfect  color.  One  often  experiences, 
on  looking  down  upon  it  from  one  of  its  many  surround- 
ing mountains,  a  feeling  of  surprise,  as  if  the  sky  and  earth 
had  somehow  been  reversed  and  he  was  looking  down  upon 
the  sky  instead  of  the  earth. 

And,  further,  Lake  Tahoe  so  exquisitely  mirrors  the 
purity  of  the  sky;  its  general  atmosphere  is  so  perfect,  that 
one  feels  it  is  peculiarly  akin  to  the  sky. 

Mark  Twain  walked  to  Lake  Tahoe  in  the  early  sixties, 
from  Carson  City,  carrying  a  couple  of  blankets  and  an  ax. 
He  suggests  that  his  readers  will  find  it  advantageous  to  go 
on  horseback.  It  was  a  hot  summer  day,  not  calculated  to 
make  one  of  his  temperament  susceptible  to  fine  scenic  im- 
pressions, yet  this  is  what  he  says: 

We  plodded  on,  two  or  three  hours  longer,  and  at  last 
the  Lake  burst  upon  us  —  a  noble  sheet  of  blue  water  lifted 
six  thousand  three  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 


2        THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

and  walled  in  by  a  rim  of  snow-clad  mountain  peaks  that 
towered  aloft  full  three  thousand  feet  higher  still.  It  was  a 
vast  oval,  and  one  would  have  to  use  up  eighty  or  a  hundred 
good  miles  in  traveling  around  it.  As  it  lay  there  with  the 
shadows  of  the  mountains  brilliantly  photographed  upon  its 
still  surface  I  thought  it  must  surely  be  the  fairest  picture 
the  whole  earth  affords! 

And  there  you  have  it!  Articulate  or  inarticulate,  some- 
thing like  this  is  what  every  one  thinks  when  he  first  sees 
Tahoe,  and  the  oftener  he  sees  it,  and  the  more  he  knows  it 
the  more  grand  and  glorious  it  becomes.  It  is  immaterial 
that  there  are  lakes  perched  upon  higher  mountain  shelves, 
and  that  one  or  two  of  them,  at  equal  or  superior  altitudes, 
are  larger  in  size.  Tahoe  ranks  in  the  forefront  both  for 
altitude  and  size,  and  in  beauty  and  picturesqueness,  majesty 
and  sublimity,  there  is  no  mountain  body  of  water  on  this 
earth  that  is  its  equal. 

Why  such  superlatives  in  which  world-travelers  generally 
—  in  fact,  invariably  —  agree  ?  There  must  be  some  reason 
for  it.  Nay,  there  are  many.  To  thousands  the  chief  charm 
of  Lake  Tahoe  is  in  the  exquisite,  rare,  and  astonishing 
colors  of  its  waters.  They  are  an  endless  source  of  delight 
to  all  who  see  them,  no  matter  how  insensible  they  may  be, 
ordinarily,  to  the  effect  of  color.  There  is  no  shade  of 
blue  or  green  that  cannot  here  be  found  and  the  absolutely 
clear  and  pellucid  quality  of  the  water  enhances  the  beauty 
and  perfection  of  the  tone. 

One  minister  of  San  Francisco  thus  speaks  of  the  color- 
ing: 

When  the  day  Is  calm  there  is  a  ring  around  the  Lake  ex- 
tending from  a  hundred  yards  to  a  mile  from  the  shore 
which  is  the  most  brilliant  green ;  within  this  ring  there  is 
another  zone  of  the  deepest  blue,  and  this  gives  place  to  royal 
purple  in  the  distance;  and  the  color  of  the  Lake  changes 
from  day  to  day  and  from  hour  to  hour.     It  is  never  twice 


WHY  "THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY"?  3 

the  same  —  sometimes  the  blue  is  lapis  lazuli,  then  it  is 
jade,  then  it  is  purple,  and  when  the  breeze  gently  ruffles  the 
surface  it  is  silvery-gray.  The  Lake  has  as  many  moods 
as  an  April  day  or  a  lovely  woman.  But  its  normal  ap- 
pearance is  that  of  a  floor  of  lapis  lazuli  set  with  a  ring  of 
emerald. 

The  depth  of  the  water,  varying  as  it  does  from  a  few- 
feet  to  nearly  or  over  2000  feet,  together  with  the  peculiarly 
variable  bottom  of  the  Lake,  have  much  to  do  with  these  color 
effects.  The  lake  bottom  on  a'clear  wind-quiet  day  can  be 
clearly  seen  except  in  the  lowest  depths.  Here  and  there 
are  patches  of  fairly  level  area,  covered  either  with  rocky 
bowlders,  moss-covered  rocks,  or  vari-colored  sands.  Then, 
suddenly,  the  eye  falls  upon  a  ledge,  on  the  yonder  side  of 
which  the  water  suddenly  becomes  deep  blue.  That  ledge 
may  denote  a  submarine  precipice,  a  hundred,  five  hundred, 
a  thousand  or  more  feet  deep,  and  the  changes  caused  by 
such  sudden  and  awful  depths  are  beyond  verbal  descrip- 
tion. 

Many  of  the  softer  color-efifects  are  produced  by  the  light 
colored  sands  that  are  washed  down  into  the  shallower 
waters  by  the  mountain  streams.  These  vary  considerably, 
from  almost  white  and  cream,  to  deep  yellow,  brown  and 
red.  Then  the  mosses  that  grow  on  the  massive  bowlders, 
rounded,  square  and  irregular,  of  every  conceivable  size, 
that  are  strewn  over  the  lake  bottom,  together  with  the 
equally  varied  rocks  of  the  shore-line,  some  of  them  tower- 
ing hundreds  of  feet  above  the  water  —  these  have  their 
share  in  the  general  enchantment  and  revelry  of  color. 

Emerald  Bay  and  Meek's  Bay  are  justly  world-famed 
for  their  triumphs  of  color  glories,  for  here  there  seem  to  be 
those  peculiar  combinations  of  varied  objects,  and  depths, 
from  the  shallowest  to  the  deepest,  with  the  variations  of 
colored  sands  and  rocks  on  the  bottom,  as  well  as  queer- 


4        THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

shaped  and  colored  bowlders  lying  on  the  vari-colored  sands, 
that  are  not  found  elsewhere.  The  waving  of  the  water 
gives  a  mottled  effect  surpassing  the  most  delicate  and  richly- 
shaded  marbles  and  onyxes.  Watered-silks  of  the  most 
perfect  manufacture  are  but  childish  and  puerile  attempts 
at  reproduction,  and  finest  Turkish  shawls,  Bokhara  rugs 
or  Arab  sheiks'  dearest-prized  Prayer  Carpets  are  but  glim- 
mering suggestions  of  what  the  Master  Artist  himself  has 
here  produced. 

There  are  not  the  glowing  colors  of  sunrises  and  sunsets; 
but  they  are  equally  sublime,  awe-inspiring  and  enchanting. 
There  are  Alpine-glows,  and  peach-blooms  and  opalescent 
fires,  gleams  and  subtle  suggestions  that  thrill  moment  by 
moment,  and  disappear  as  soon  as  seen,  only  to  be  followed 
by  equally  beautiful,  enchanting  and  surprising  effects,  and 
with  it  all,  is  a  mobility,  a  fluidity,  a  rippling,  flowing,  wav- 
ing, tossing  series  of  effects  that  belong  only  to  enchanted 
water  —  water  kissed  Into  glory  by  the  sun  and  moon,  lured 
Into  softest  beauty  by  the  glamour  of  the  stars,  and  etherl- 
alized  by  the  quiet  and  subtle  charms  of  the  Milky  Way,  and 
of  the  Suns,  Comets  and  Meteors  that  the  eye  of  man  has 
never  gazed  upon. 

There  is  one  especially  color-blessed  spot.  It  Is  In  Gre- 
cian Bay,  between  Rubicon  Point  and  Emerald  Bay.  Here 
the  shore  formation  Is  wild  and  irregular,  with  deep  holes, 
majestic,  grand  and  rugged  rocks  and  some  trees  and  shrub- 
bery. Near  the  center  of  this  is  a  deep  hole,  Into  which  one 
of  the  mountain  streams  runs  over  a  light-colored  sandy  bot- 
tom where  the  water  Is  quite  shallow.  Around  are  vari- 
colored trees  and  shrubs,  and  these  objects  and  conditions  all 
combine  to  produce  a  mystic  revelation  of  color  gradations 
and  harmonies,  from  emerald  green  and  jade  to  the  deepest 
amythestine  or  ultra-marine.     When  the  wind  slightly  stirs 


WHY  "THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY"?  5 

the  surface  and  these  dancing  ripples  catch  the  sunbeams,  one 
by  one,  in  changeful  and  irregular  measure,  the  eyes  are 
dazzled  with  iridescences  and  living  color-changes  cover- 
ing hundreds  of  acres,  thousands  of  them,  as  exquisite,  glori- 
ous and  dazzling  as  revealed  in  the  most  perfect  peacock's 
tail-feathers,  or  humming-bird's  throat.  Over  such  spots 
one  sits  in  his  boat  spell-bound,  color-entranced,  and  the 
ears  of  his  soul  listen  to  color  music  as  thrilling,  as  enchant- 
ing as  melodies  by  Foster  and  Balfe,  minuets  by  Mozart  and 
Haydn,  arias  by  Handel,  nocturnes  and  serenades  by  Chopin 
and  Schumann,  overtures  by  Rossini,  massive  choruses  and 
chorals  by  Handel,  Haydn  and  Mendelssohn,  fugues  by 
Bach,  and  concertos  by  Beethoven. 

The  blue  alone  is  enough  to  impress  it  forever  upon  the 
observant  mind.  Its  rich,  deep,  perfect  splendor  is  a  con- 
stant surprise.  One  steps  from  his  hotel,  not  thinking  of  the 
Lake  —  the  blue  of  it  rises  through  the  trees,  over  the  rocks, 
everywhere,  vi^ith  startling  vividness.  Surely  never  before 
was  so  large  and  wonderful  a  lake  of  inky  blue,  sapphire 
blue,  ultra-marine,  amethystine  richness  spread  out  for 
man's  enjoyment.  And  while  the  summer  months  show  this 
in  all  its  smooth  placidity  and  quietude,  there  seems  to  be 
a  deeper  blue,  a  richer  shade  take  possession  of  the  waves 
in  the  fall,  or  when  its  smoothness  is  rudely  dispelled  by 
the  storms  of  winter  and  spring. 

So  much  for  the  color! 

Yet  there  are  those  who  are  devoted  to  Lake  Tahoe  who 
seldom  speak  of  the  coloring  of  its  waters.  Perhaps  they 
are  fascinated  by  its  fishing.  This  has  become  as  world- 
famed  as  its  colors.  Thousands,  hundreds  of  thousands,  of 
the  most  gamey  and  delicately-flavored  trout  are  caught 
here  annually,  both  by  experts  and  amateurs.  The  Federal 
and  State  governments,  and  private  individuals  yearly  stock 


6        THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

the  main  Lake  and  the  hundred  and  one  smaller  lakes  of  the 
region  with  the  finest  species  of  trout  obtainable,  and  the 
results  fully  justify  the  labor  and  expense. 

To  the  mountain-lover  the  Tahoe  region  is  an  earthly 
paradise.  One  summer  I  climbed  over  tw^enty  peaks,  each 
over  nine  thousand  feet  high,  and  all  gave  me  glimpses  of 
Tahoe.     Some  of  them  went  up  close  to  1 1,000  feet. 

Are  you  an  admirer  of  Alpine,  nay,  High  Sierran,  trees? 
You  will  find  all  the  well-known,  and  several  rare  and  en- 
tirely new  species  in  this  region.  This  field  alone  could  well 
occupy  a  student,  or  a  mere  amateur  tree-lover  a  whole  sum- 
mer in  rambling,  climbing,  collecting  and  studying. 

And  as  for  geology  —  the  Grand  Canyon  of  Arizona  has 
afforded  me  nature  reading  material  for  nearly  three  de- 
cades and  I  am  delighted  by  reading  it  yet.  Still  I  am 
free  to  confess  the  uplift  of  these  high-sweeping  Sierras,  upon 
whose  lofty  summits 

The  high-born,  beautiful  snow  comes  down, 
Silent  and  soft  as  the  terrible  feet 
Of  Time  on  the  mosses  of  ruins; 

the  great  glacial  cirques,  with  their  stupendous  precipices 
from  which  the  vast  ice-sheets  started,  which  gouged, 
smoothed,  planed  and  grooved  millions  of  acres  of  solid 
granite  into  lake-beds,  polished  domes  and  canyon  walls  and 
carried  along  millions  of  tons  of  rock  debris  to  make  scores 
of  lateral  and  terminal  moraines ;  together  with  the  evidences 
of  uplift,  subsidence  and  volcanic  outpouring  of  diorite  and 
other  molten  rocks,  afford  one  as  vast  and  enjoyable  a  field 
for  contemplation  as  any  ordinary  man  can  find  in  the  Grand 
Canyon. 

But  why  compare  them?  There  is  no  need  to  do  so. 
Each  is  supreme  in  its  own  right;  different  yet  compelling, 
unlike  yet  equally  engaging. 


WHY  "THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY"?  7 

Then  there  are  the  ineffable  climate  of  summer,  the  sun- 
rises, the  sunsets,  the  Indians,  the  flowers,  the  sweet-singing 
birds,  the  rowing,  in  winter  the  snow-shoeing,  the  camping- 
out,  and,  alas !  I  must  say  it  —  the  hunting. 

Why  man  will  hunt  save  for  food  is  beyond  me.  I  deem 
it  that  every  living  thing  has  as  much  right  to  its  life  as  I 
have  to  mine,  but  I  find  I  am  in  a  large  minority  among  a 
certain  class  that  finds  at  Lake  Tahoe  its  hunting  Mecca. 
Deer  abound,  and  grouse  and  quail  are  quite  common, 
and  in  the  summer  of  19 13  I  knew  of  four  bears  being 
shot. 

Is  it  necessary  to  present  further  claims  for  Lake  Tahoe? 
Every  new  hour  finds  a  new  charm,  every  new  day  calls  for 
the  louder  praise,  every  added  visit  only  fastens  the  chains 
of  allurement  deeper.  For  instance,  this  is  the  day  of  ath- 
letic maids,  as  well  as  men.  We  find  them  everywhere. 
Very  well!     Lake  Tahoe  is  the  physical  culturist's  heaven. 

In  any  one  of  its  score  of  camps  he  may  sleep  out  of  doors, 
on  the  porch,  out  under  the  pines,  by  the  side  of  the  Lake  or 
in  his  tent  or  cottage  with  open  doors  and  windows.  At 
sunrise,  or  later,  in  his  bathing  suit,  or  when  away  from 
too  close  neighbors,  clothed,  as  dear  old  Walt  Whitman 
puts  it,  '*  in  the  natural  and  religious  idea  of  nakedness," 
the  cold  waters  of  the  Lake  invite  him  to  a  healthful  and 
invigorating  plunge,  with  a  stimulating  and  vivifying  swim. 
A  swift  rub  down  with  a  crash  towel,  a  rapid  donning  of 
rude  walking  togs  and  off,  instanter,  for  a  mile  climb  up 
one  of  the  trails,  a  scramble  over  a  rocky  way  to  some  hid- 
den Sierran  lake,  some  sheltered  tree  nook,  some  elevated  out- 
look point,  and,  after  feasting  the  eyes  on  the  glories  of  in- 
comparable and  soul-elevating  scenes,  he  returns  to  camp, 
eats  a  hearty  breakfast,  with  a  clear  conscience,  a  vigorous 
appetite  aided  by  hunger  sauce,  guided  by  the  normal  in- 
stincts of  taste,  all  of  which  have  been  toned  up  by  the  mom- 


8        THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

ing's  exercise  —  what  wonder  that  such  an  one  radiates  Life 
and  Vim,  Energy  and  Health,  Joy  and  Content. 

Do  you  know  what  the  lure  must  be  when  a  busy  man,  an 
active  man,  an  alert  man,  a  man  saturated  with  the  nervous 
spirit  of  American  commercial  life,  sits  down  in  one  of  the 
seats  overlooking  the  Lake,  or  spreads  out  his  full  length 
upon  the  grass,  or  on  the  beds  of  Sierran  moss,  which  make 
a  deliciously  restful  cushion,  and  stays  there!  He  does 
nothing;  doesn't  even  look  consciously  at  the  blue  waters  of 
the  Lake,  on  the  ineffable  blue  of  the  sky,  or  the  rich  green 
of  the  trees  or  the  glory  of  the  flowers  —  he  simply  sits  or 
sprawls  or  lies  and,  though  the  influence  is  different,  the  ef- 
fect is  the  same  as  that  expressed  in  the  old  hymn: 

My  soul  would  ever  stay, 
In  such  a  frame  as  this, 
And  sit  and  sing  itself  away, 
To  everlasting  bliss. 

There's  the  idea!  Calm,  rest,  peace,  bliss.  Those  are 
what  you  get  at  Lake  Tahoe.  And  with  them  come  re- 
newed health,  increased  vigor,  strengthened  courage,  new 
power  to  go  forth  and  seize  the  problems  of  life,  with  a 
surer  grasp,  a  more  certain  touch,  a  more  clearly  and  defi- 
nitely assured  end. 

There  are  some  peculiarities  of  Lake  Tahoe  that  should 
be  noted,  although  they  are  of  a  very  different  character  from 
the  foolish  and  sensational  statements  that  used  to  be  made 
in  the  early  days  of  its  history  among  white  men.  A  serious 
advertising  folder  years  ago  sagely  informed  the  traveling 
public  as  follows:  "A  strange  phenomenon  in  connection 
with  the  Truckee  River  is  the  fact  that  the  Lake  from  which 
it  flows  (Tahoe)  has  no  inlet,  so  far  as  any  one  knows,  and 
the  lake  into  which  it  flows  (Pyramid  Lake,  Nevada),  has 
no  outlet." 

How  utterly  absurd  this  is.     Lake  Tahoe  has  upward  of 


WHY  "THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY"?  9 

a  hundred  feeders,  among  which  may  be  named  Glenbrook, 
the  Upper  Truckee,  Fallen  Leaf  Creek,  Eagle  Creek,  Meek's 
Creek,  General  Creek,  McKinney  Creek,  Madden  Creek, 
Blackwood  Creek,  and  Ward  Creek,  all  of  these  being  con- 
stant streams,  pouring  many  thousands  of  inches  of  water 
daily  into  the  Lake  even  at  the  lowest  flow,  and  in  the 
snow-melting  and  rainy  seasons  sending  down  their  floods 
in  great  abundance. 

To  many  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  Lake  Tahoe  never 
freezes  over  in  winter.  This  is  owing  to  its  great  depth, 
possibly  aided  by  the  ruffling  and  consequent  disturbance  of 
its  surface  by  the  strong  northeasterly  winter  winds.  The 
vast  body  of  water,  with  such  tremendous  depth,  maintains 
too  high  a  temperature  to  be  affected  by  surface  reductions 
in  temperature.  Experiments  show  that  the  temperature 
in  summer  on  the  surface  is  68  degrees  Fahr.  At  100  feet 
55  degrees;  at  300  feet  46  degrees;  at  1506  feet  39  degrees. 

Twenty  years  ago  the  thermometer  at  Lake  Tahoe  regis- 
tered 18°  F.  below  zero,  and  in  1 9 10  it  was  10°  F.  below. 
Both  these  years  Emerald  Bay  froze  over.  Perhaps  the 
reason  for  this  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  entrance  to  the 
bay  is  very  shallow,  and  that  this  meager  depth  is  subject 
to  change  in  surface  temperature,  becoming  warmer  in  sum- 
mer and  colder  in  winter.  This  narrow  ridge  once  solidly 
frozen,  the  warmth  of  the  larger  body  of  water  would  have 
no  effect  upon  the  now-confined  smaller  body  of  Emerald 
Bay.  Once  a  firm  hold  taken  by  the  ice,  it  would  slowly 
spread  its  fingers  and  aid  in  the  reduction  of  the  tempera- 
ture beyond,  first  producing  slush-ice,  and  then  the  more 
solid  crystal  ice,  until  the  whole  surface  would  be  frozen  solid. 

An  explanation  of  the  non-freezing  of  the  main  Lake  has 
been  offered  by  several  local  "  authorities  "  as  owing  to  the 
presence  of  a  number  of  hot  springs  either  in  the  bed  of 
the  Lake  or  near  enough  to  its  shores  materially  to  affect  its 


lo      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

temperature.  But  I  know  of  few  or  no  "  facts  "  to  justify 
such  an  explanation. 

When  I  first  visited  Lake  Tahoe  over  thirty  years  ago  I 
was  seriously  and  solemnly  informed  by  several  (who  evi- 
dently believed  their  own  assertions)  that,  owing  to  the 
great  elevation  of  the  Lake,  the  density  of  the  water,  etc., 
etc..  It  was  impossible  for  any  one  to  swim  in  Lake  Tahoe. 
I  was  assured  that  several  who  had  tried  had  had  narrow 
escapes  from  drowning.  While  the  utter  absurdity  of  the 
statements  was  self-evident  I  decided  I  would  give  myself 
a  practical  demonstration.  To  be  perfectly  safe  I  purchased 
a  clothes-line,  then,  hiring  a  row-boat,  went  as  far  away  from 
shore  as  was  desirable,  undressed,  tied  one  end  of  the  rope 
around  the  seat,  the  other  around  my  body,  and  —  jumped 
in.  I  did  not  sink.  Far  from  it.  I  was  never  more  stimu- 
lated to  swim  in  my  life.  My  ten  or  fifteen  feet  dive  took 
me  into  colder  water  than  I  had  ever  experienced  before 
and  I  felt  as  if  suddenly,  and  at  one  fell  swoop,  I  were  flayed 
alive.  Gasping  for  breath  I  made  for  the  boat,  climbed  in, 
and  in  the  delicious  glow  that  came  with  the  reaction  decided 
that  it  was  quite  as  important  to  feel  of  the  temperature  of 
lake  water  before  you  leaped,  as  it  was  to  render  yourself 
safe  from  sinking  by  anchoring  yourself  to  a  clothesline. 

But  I  would  not  have  my  reader  assume  from  the  recital 
of  this  experience  that  Lake  Tahoe  is  always  too  cold  for 
swimming.  Such  is  not  the  case.  Indeed  in  June,  July, 
August  and  September  the  swimming  is  delightful  to  those 
virho  enjoy  "  the  cool,  silver  shock  of  the  plunge  in  a  pool's 
living  water,"  that  Browning's  Saul  so  vividly  pictures  for 
us.  Hundreds  of  people  —  men,  women  and  children  —  in 
these  months  indulge  in  the  daily  luxury,  especially  in  the 
coves  and  beaches  where  the  water  is  not  too  deep,  and  the 
sun's  ardent  rays  woo  them  into  comfortable  warmth. 

After  a  warm  day's  tramp  or  ride  over  the  trails,  too,  there 


WHY  "THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY"?  ii 

is  nothing  more  delicious  than  a  plunge  into  one  of  the 
lakes,  A  short,  crisp  swim,  a  vigorous  rub  down,  and  a 
resumption  of  the  walk  or  ride  and  one  feels  fit  enough  to 
conquer  a  world. 

It  can  be  imagined,  too,  what  a  lively  scene  the  Lake  pre- 
sents in  the  height  of  the  season,  when,  from  the  scores  of 
hotels,  resorts,  camps,  private  residences,  fishermen's  camps, 
etc. ;  fishing-boats,  row-boats,  launches,  motor-boats,  and 
yachts  ply  to  and  fro  in  every  direction,  unconsciously  vying 
with  each  other  to  attract  the  eye  of  the  onlooker.  The  pure 
blue  of  the  Lake,  with  its  emerald  ring  and  varying  shades 
of  color,  added  to  by  the  iridescent  gleam  that  possesses 
the  surface  when  it  is  slightly  rippled  by  a  gentle  breeze, 
contrasting  with  the  active,  vivid,  moving  boats  of  differing 
sizes,  splashed  with  every  conceivable  color  by  the  hats  and 
costumes  of  the  occupants  —  all  these  conspire  to  demand 
the  eye,  to  enchain  the  attention,  to  harmlessly  hypnotize,  as 
it  were,  those  who  sit  on  the  shore  and  look. 

And  when  is  added  to  this  the  spontaneous  shouts  and 
shrieks  of  delight  that  the  feminine  "  fishermen  "  give  when 
they  are  successful  and  make  a  catch,  the  half-frenzied  and 
altogether  delighted  announcements  thereof,  the  whole- 
hearted or  the  half-jealous,  half-envious  return-congratula- 
tions, while  now  and  then  the  large  steamer,  Tahoe,  or  an 
elegant  private  yacht,  as  the  Tevis's  Consuelo,  crosses  the 
scene,  one  may  partially  but  never  fully  conceive  the  joy 
and  radiant  happiness,  the  satisfaction  and  content  that  Lake 
Tahoe  inspires  and  produces. 

Lake  Tahoe  covers  about  190  square  miles,  and  its 
watershed  is  about  500  square  miles.  The  boundary  line 
between  Nevada  and  California  strikes  the  Lake  on  the 
northern  border  at  the  120th  meridian,  and  a  point  at  that 
spot  is  called  the  State  Line  Point.  The  latitude  parallel 
of  this  northern  entrance  is  39°    15".     The  boundary  line 


12      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

goes  due  south  until  about  38°  58"  and  then  strikes  off  at  an 
oblique  angle  to  the  southeast,  making  the  southern  line 
close  to  Lakeside  Park,  a  few  miles  east  of  the  120th  me- 
ridian. 


CHAPTER  II 

FREMONT   AND  THE   DISCOVERY   OF   LAKE   TAHOE 

LIKE  so  many  other  great  discoveries  that  were  to  have 
an  important  effect  upon  the  lives  of  countless  num- 
bers of  people,  the  discovery  of  Lake  Tahoe  was  acci- 
dental. Nor  did  its  finder  comprehend  the  vast  influence  it 
was  to  possess,  not  only  upon  the  residents  of  California 
and  Nevada,  but  upon  the  travel-loving  and  sight-seeing  por- 
tion of  the  population  of  the  whole  world. 

John  C.  Fremont,  popularly  acclaimed  "  the  pathfinder," 
was  its  discoverer,  on  the  14th  day  of  February,  1844.  In 
the  journal  of  his  1843-44  expedition  he  thus  records  the 
first  sight  of  it: 

Accompanied  by  Mr.  Preuss,  I  ascended  to-day  the  highest 
peak  to  the  right  from  which  we  had  a  beautiful  view  of  a 
mountain  lake  at  our  feet,  about  fifteen  miles  in  length,  and 
so  nearly  surrounded  by  mountains  that  we  could  not  discover 
an  outlet. 

It  cannot  be  deemed  out  of  place  in  these  pages,  owing 
to  the  significance  of  the  discovery  by  Fremont,  to  give  a 
brief  account  of  the  exploration  and  its  purposes,  in  the 
carrying  out  of  which  Tahoe  was  revealed  to  the  intrepid 
and  distinguished  explorer. 

Fortunately  for  us,  Fremont  left  a  full  story  of  his  ex- 
periences in  the  Nevada  country,  complete  in  detail,  and  as 
fresh  and  vivid  as  if  but  written  yesterday.  This  account, 
with  illuminating  Introduction,  and  explanatory  notes  by 
James  U.  Smith,  from  whose  pioneer  father  Smith  Valley 

13 


14      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

is  named,  was  republished  in  the  Second  Biennial  Report  of 
the  Nevada  Historical  Society,  from  which,  with  the  kind 
permission  of  the  secretary,  Professor  Jeanne  Elizabeth  Wier, 
the  following  extracts  are  made. 

Fremont  had  already  made  his  first  exploration  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  South  Pass  in  the  summer  of  1842. 
It  was  in  this  expedition  that,  standing  on  the  highest  peak 
of  the  Rockies,  he  looked  down  into  the  vast  area  beyond, 
known  as  the  Great  Basin,  comprising  with  its  mountain 
ranges  the  whole  western  portion  of  the  continent  of  North 
America.  This  he  determined  to  explore,  and  it  was  on 
this  second  expedition  that  Lakes  Pyramid  and  Tahoe,  the 
Truckee  River,  etc.,  were  discovered. 

Later,  Fremont  made  his  third  western  journey,  that  in 
which  he  came  into  conflict  with  the  Mexican  officials  of 
California,  became  governor  of  California,  and  was  finally 
placed  under  arrest  by  General  Kearny,  and  taken  back  to 
Washington  to  be  tried  for  mutiny.  The  results  of  that 
unfortunate  Kearny  conflict  are  well  known. 

At  the  official  close  of  the  dispute  he  made  his  fourth 
expedition  and  finally  his  fifth,  all  of  which  are  fully  treated 
in  Smucker's  and  Bigelow's  Life  of  Fremont. 

To  return  now  to  the  second  expedition.  In  the  words 
of  Mr.  Smith: 

The  object  of  the  expedition  was  purely  for  the  purpose 
of  exploring  and  otherwise  getting  scientific  information 
about  the  great  territory  between  the  Missouri  frontier  and 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  Emigrants  were  making  their  way  west- 
ward to  the  new  Oregon  Territory,  and  hunters  and  trappers 
had  been  visiting  portions  of  that  region.  Farther  north 
the  fur  companies  had  their  posts  and  did  a  regular  business 
with  the  trappers  and  Indians.  But  little  was  known  about 
the  regions  further  south,  and  especially  the  great  territory 
between  the  Rocky  and  Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  chains, 
and  that  little  was  freely  adulterated  with  fiction. 


DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  15 

Great  Salt  Lake  was  supposed  to  be  a  very  strange  and 
wonderful  lake,  the  islands  of  which  were  covered  with  woods 
and  flowers,  through  which  roamed  all  kinds  of  game,  and 
whose  waters  were  sucked  down  in  a  great  awe-inspiring 
whirlpool  into  an  underground  passage  under  the  mountains 
and  valleys  to  the  distant  sea.  Another  myth,  or  rather  pair 
of  myths,  in  which  geographers  placed  sufficient  faith  to  give 
a  place  on  the  maps  of  the  time,  was  the  great  Buenaventura 
River,  and  that  semi-tropical  Mary's  Lake,  the  waters  from 
which  found  their  way  through  the  Sierra  Nevadas  to  San 
Francisco  Bay.  Mary's  Lake  was  supposed  to  be  a  body  of 
water  such  as  a  traveler  dreams  about,  whose  clear  waters 
were  bordered  by  meadows  ever  green,  a  place  on  whose  shores 
he  could  pitch  his  tent  and  cast  aside  all  thought  or  care  of 
the  morrow.  Fremont  counted  on  this  lake  as  a  place  where 
he  could  recuperate  and  make  ready  for  a  final  dash  eastward 
across  the  unknown  country  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
thence  home  to  the  Mississippi  River.  Contrast  these  antici- 
pations with  the  hardships  and  fears  he  encountered  while 
groping  his  way  through  the  Black  Rock  Desert,  north  of 
Pyramid  Lake. 

But  Fremont  was  a  good  leader  followed  by  courageous 
men,  and  disappointments  did  not  make  weaklings  of  either 
him  or  his  men.  His  party,  on  leaving  Missouri,  consisted 
of  thirty-nine  men  —  Creoles,  Canadian-Frenchmen,  Ameri- 
cans, a  German  or  two,  a  free  negro  and  two  Indians. 
Charles  Preuss  was  Fremont's  assistant  in  topography,  and  it 
is  likely  that  he  made  his  sketches,  several  of  which  were 
published  in  the  original  report.  Another  member  of  the 
party,  and  one  who  joined  it  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
and  is  of  special  interest  to  us,  was  Christopher  Carson,  com- 
monly known  as  "  Kit  "  Carson.  Fremont  speaks  of  him  in 
very  friendly  and  flattering  terms.  At  the  time  of  the 
meeting  with  Carson,  he  says:  "  I  had  here  the  satisfaction 
to  meet  our  good  buffalo  hunter  of  1842,  Christopher  Carson, 
whose  services  I  considered  myself  fortunate  to  secure  again." 
On  another  occasion,  when  Carson  had  successfully  performed 
a  responsible  errand,  he  says:  "Reaching  St.  Vrain's  Fort 
...  we  found  .  .  .  my  true  and  reliable  friend,  Kit  Car- 
son." 


i6      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 
Fremont  left  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  May  29,  1843. 

His  general  route  was  along  the  old  "  Oregon  Trail," 
then  the  new  "  Oregon  Trail,"  but  at  many  places  his  route 
was  different.  He  followed  up  the  Kansas  River  instead 
of  the  Platte.  But  he  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  over 
the  South  Pass,  which  is  that  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
and  was  common  to  the  Oregon  Trail  and  the  emigrant  road 
to  California.  During  nearly  the  whole  journey  to  Oregon 
Fremont  divided  his  party.  One  part  he  placed  in  charge 
of  Fitzpatrick.  This  consisted  of  the  carts  with  the  bulk 
of  the  supplies  and  about  half  of  the  men.  The  other  part 
consisted  of  a  mounted  party  with  packhorses  and  the  how- 
itzer. Fremont,  of  course,  took  charge  of  the  latter  party, 
for,  traveling  light  as  it  did,  he  was  able  to  make  detours 
covering  country  he  wished  to  explore,  always,  however, 
using  the  other  train  as  a  base  of  supplies.  The  course  of 
the  other  party  was  generally  along  the  emigrant  road  to 
Oregon. 

After  crossing  the  Rocky  Mountains,  Fremont  went  south 
with  his  party  to  explore  Great  Salt  Lake.  Thence  he  re- 
turned north  again  to  the  emigrant  road,  which  then  followed 
in  a  general  way  the  Snake  or  Lewis  River  to  the  Columbia, 
with  the  exception  of  the  great  bend  in  northeastern  Oregon 
which  was  traversed  by  a  shorter  route.  Along  the  bank  of 
the  Columbia  the  road  followed  to  the  Mission  Station  at 
the  Dalles,  or  great  narrows  of  the  river.  At  this  point  many 
of  the  emigrants  transferred  their  baggage  to  barges  and 
floated  with  the  current  to  their  destination  on  the  Willa- 
mette River.  Others  continued  by  land  down  the  river. 
Fremont's  division  reached  the  Dalles  November  4th.  Fitz- 
patrick's  train  did  not  come  in  until  the  21st.  The  latter 
left  his  carts  at  the  mouth  of  the  Walla  Walla  River  accord- 
ing to  Fremont's  orders;  and,  after  making  pack-saddles, 
transferred  what  was  left  of  his  baggage  to  the  backs  of  his 
mules  for  the  trip  down  to  the  Dalles.  In  the  meantime 
Fremont,  with  Preuss  and  two  of  the  other  men,  had  gone 
down  to  Fort  Vancouver  in  canoes.  This  was  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  for  the  West.  Here  sup- 
plies for  the  return  journey  were  obtained. 

Having   transported   these  supplies  up   to  the   Dalles   in 


DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  17 

barges  propelled  by  Indians,  he  was  ready  to  take  up  the 
final  preparation  for  the  homeward  journey.  It  is  best  to 
let  him  describe  these  preparations  in  his  own  words.  He 
says: 

"  The  camp  was  now  occupied  in  making  the  necessary 
preparations  for  our  homeward  journey,  which,  though  home- 
ward, contemplated  a  new  route,  and  a  great  circuit  to  the 
south  and  southeast,  and  the  exploration  of  the  Great  Basin 
between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

"  Three  principal  objects  were  indicated,  by  report,  or  by 
maps,  as  being  on  this  route,  the  character  or  existence  of 
which  I  wished  to  ascertain,  and  which  I  assumed  as  land- 
marks, or  leading  points,  on  the  projected  line  of  return. 
The  first  of  these  points  was  the  Tlamath  Lake,  on  the  table- 
land between  the  head  of  Fall  River  (this  is  now  called  by 
its  French  name,  the  Des  Chutes  River),  which  comes  to 
the  Columbia,  and  the  Sacramento,  which  goes  to  the  Bay  of 
San  Francisco,  and  from  which  lake  a  river  of  the  same  name 
makes  its  way  westwardly  direct  to  the  ocean. 

"  This  lake  and  river  are  often  called  Klamet,  but  I  have 
chosen  to  write  the  name  according  to  the  Indian  pronuncia- 
tion. The  position  of  this  lake,  on  the  line  of  inland  com- 
munication between  Oregon  and  California;  its  proximity  to 
the  demarcation  boundary  of  latitude  42  deg. ;  its  imputed 
double  character  of  lake,  or  meadow,  according  to  the  season 
of  the  year;  and  the  hostile  and  warlike  character  attributed 
to  the  Indians  about  it ;  —  all  make  it  a  desirable  object  to 
visit  and  examine.  From  this  lake  our  course  was  intended 
to  be  about  southeast,  to  a  reported  lake  called  Mary's,  at 
some  days'  journey  in  the  Great  Basin ;  and  thence,  still  on 
southeast,  to  the  reputed  Buenaventura  River,  which  has  a 
place  in  so  many  maps,  and  countenanced  the  belief  of  the 
existence  of  a  great  river  flowing  from  the  Rocky  Mountains 
to  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  From  the  Buenaventura  the 
next  point  was  intended  to  be  in  that  section  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  which  includes  the  heads  of  Arkansas  River,  and 
of  the  opposite  waters  of  the  California  Gulf;  and  thence 
down  the  Arkansas  to  Bent's  Fort,  and  home. 

"  This  was  our  projected  line  of  return  —  a  great  part  of 
it  absolutely  new  to  geographical,  botanical,  and  geological 
science  —  and  the  subject  of  reports  in  relation  to  lakes, 


i8      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

rivers,  deserts,  and  savages,  hardly  above  the  condition  of 
mere  wild  animals,  which  inflamed  desire  to  know  what  this 
terra  incognita  really  contained.  It  was  a  serious  enterprise, 
at  the  commencement  of  winter,  to  undertake  the  traverse  of 
such  a  region,  and  with  a  party  consisting  only  of  twenty- 
five  persons,  and  they  of  many  nations  —  American,  French, 
German,  Canadian,  Indian,  and  colored  —  and  most  of  them 
young,  several  being  under  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

"  All  knew  that  a  strange  country  was  to  be  explored,  and 
dangers  and  hardships  to  be  encountered ;  but  no  one  blenched 
at  the  prospect.  On  the  contrary,  courage  and  confidence 
animated  the  whole  party.  Cheerfulness,  readiness,  subordi- 
nation, prompt  obedience,  characterized  all;  nor  did  any  ex- 
tremity or  peril  and  privation,  to  which  we  were  afterward 
exposed,  ever  belie,  or  derogate  from,  the  fine  spirit  of  this 
brave  and  generous  commencement. 

"  The  course  of  the  narrative  will  show  at  what  point,  and 
for  what  reasons,  we  were  prevented  from  the  complete  ex- 
ecution of  this  plan,  after  having  made  considerable  progress 
upon  it,  and  how  we  were  forced  by  desert  plains  and  moun- 
tain ranges,  and  deep  snows,  far  to  the  south  and  near  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  along  the  western  base  of  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada; where,  indeed,  a  new  <and  ample  field  of  exploration 
opened  itself  before  us." 

From  these  quotations  it  is  evident  that  Fremont  had  no 
idea  of  entering  California  at  this  time.  He  was  simply 
driven  to  it  by  circumstances  over  which  he  had  no  control. 

Leaving  the  Dalles,  Fremont  followed  up  the  Des  Chutes 
River  to  its  headwaters  in  southeastern  Oregon,  thence  he 
crossed  over  the  divide  to  the  waters  of  the  Klamath,  which 
he  followed  southward  to  what  is  known  as  Klamath 
Marsh.     This  he  called  "  Klamath  Lake." 

Now  started  the  hunt  for  Mary's  Lake  and  the  San 
Buenaventura  River.  The  party  came  down  through 
southeastern  Oregon  into  Nevada,  where  they  camped  on 
the  night  of  December  26,  in  Coleman  Valley,  on  what  is 
called  Twelve-Mile  Creek,  and  about  eleven  miles  from  the 


DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  19 

present  California  line.  It  may  be  noted  here  that  at  that 
time  the  parallel  between  Nevada  and  California  on  the 
south  and  Oregon  on  the  north,  was  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  territory  of  the  United  States.  Fremont  was,  there- 
fore, about  to  cross  into  Mexican  territory. 

He  then  progressed  southward  through  what  are  now 
Washoe,  Humboldt,  Churchill  and  Lyon  counties,  and  over 
the  California  line  into  Mono  County,  back  again  into  Doug- 
las, and  thence  over  the  mountains  south  of  Lake  Tahoe, 
but  did  not  find  Mary's  Lake,  nor  the  places  upon  which 
he  relied  to  recruit  his  animals  and  give  rest  to  his  party. 
He  did,  however,  find  Pyramid  Lake.  This  being  the  body 
of  water  into  which  the  Truckee  River  flows,  and  the 
Truckee  being  the  only  outlet  to  Lake  Tahoe,  it  is  well 
that  this  portion  of  the  account  be  given  in  full.  Fremont 
and  Carson  were  on  ahead.  The  day  was  January  10,  1843. 
Fremont  writes: 

Leaving  a  signal  for  the  party  to  encamp,  we  continued 
our  way  up  the  hollow,  intending  to  see  what  lay  beyond  the 
mountain.  The  hollow  was  several  miles  long,  forming  a 
""good  pass  (some  maps  designate  this  pass  as  Fremont  Pass, 
others  as  San  Emidio  Canyon),  the  snow  deepened  to  about 
a  foot  as  we  neared  the  summit.  Beyond,  a  defile  between 
the  mountains  descended  rapidly  about  two  thousand  feet; 
and,  filling  up  all  the  lower  space,  was  a  sheet  of  green  water, 
some  twenty  miles  broad  (Pyramid  Lake).  It  broke  upon 
our  eyes  like  the  ocean.  The  neighboring  peaks  rose  high 
above  us.  One  peak,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake,  rises 
nearly  forty-four  hundred  feet  above  the  lake,  and  on  the 
side  (toward  which  Fremont  was  looking)  one  peak  rises 
4925  feet  above  the  lake;  and  we  ascended  one  of  them  to 
obtain  a  better  view. 

The  waves  were  curling  in  the  breeze,  and  their  dark- 
green  color  showed  it  to  be  a  body  of  deep  water.  For  a 
long  time  we  sat  enjoying  the  view,  for  we  had  become 
fatigued  with  mountains,  and  the  free  expanse  of  moving 


20      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

waves  was  very  grateful.  It  was  .set  like  a  gem  in  the  moun- 
tains, which,  from  our  position,  seemed  to  inclose  it  almost 
entirely.  At  the  western  end  it  communicated  with  the  line 
of  basins  we  had  left  a  few  days  since ;  and  on  the  opposite 
side  it  swept  a  ridge  of  snowy  mountains,  the  foot  of  the 
great  Sierra.  Its  position  at  first  inclined  us  to  believe  it 
Mary's  Lake,  but  the  rugged  mountains  were  so  entirely 
discordant  with  descriptions  of  its  low  rushy  shores  and  open 
country,  that  we  concluded  it  some  unknown  body  of  water, 
which  it  afterwards  proved  to  be. 

On  January  13th  we  followed  again  a  broad  Indian  trail 
along  the  shore  of  the  lake  to  the  southward.  For  a  short- 
space  we  had  room  enough  in  the  bottom ;  but,  after  travel- 
ing a  short  distance,  the  water  swept  the  foot  of  the  precipi- 
tous mountains,  the  peaks  of  which  are  about  3000  feet  above 
the  lake.  The  trail  wound  around  the  base  of  these  preci- 
pices, against  which  the  w^ater  dashed  below,  by  a  way  nearly 
impracticable  for  the  howitzer.  During  a  greater  part  of 
the  morning  the  lake  was  nearly  hid  by  a  snowstorm,  and  the 
waves  broke  on  the  narrow  beach  in  a  long  line  of  foaming 
surf,  five  or  six  feet  high.  The  day  was  unpleasantly  cold, 
the  wind  driving  the  snow  sharp  against  our  faces;  and,  hav- 
ing advanced  only  about  twelve  miles,  we  encamped  in  a  bot- 
tom formed  by  a  ravine,  covered  with  good  grass,  which  was 
fresh  and  green. 

We  did  not  get  the  howitzer  into  camp,  but  were  obliged 
to  leave  it  on  the  rocks  until  morning.  The  next  morning 
the  snow  was  rapidly  melting  under  a  warm  sun.  Part  of 
the  morning  was  occupied  in  bringing  up  the  gun;  and,  mak- 
ing only  nine  miles,  we  encamped  on  the  shore,  opposite  a  very 
remarkable  rock  in  the  lake,  which  had  attracted  our  attention 
for  many  miles.  It  rose,  according  to  our  estimate,  600  feet 
above  the  water,  and,  from  the  point  we  viewed  it,  presented 
a  pretty  exact  outline  of  the  great  pyramid  of  Cheops.  Like 
other  rocks,  along  the  shore,  it  seemed  to  be  incrusted  with 
calcareous  cement.  This  striking  feature  suggested  a  name 
for  the  lake,  and  I  called  it  Pyramid  Lake;  and  though  it 
may  be  deemed  by  some  a  fanciful  resemblance,  I  can  under- 
take to  say  that  the  future  traveler  will  find  much  more  strik- 
ing resemblance  between  this  rock  and  the  pyramids  of  Egypt 


DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  21 

than  there  is  between  them  and  the  object  from  which  they 
take  their  name.  .  .  . 

The  elevation  of  this  lake  above  the  sea  is  4890  feet,  being 
nearly  700  feet  higher  than  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  from  which 
it  lies  nearly  west,  and  distant  about  eight  degrees  of  longi- 
tude. The  position  and  elevation  of  this  lake  make  it  an 
object  of  geographical  interest.  It  is  the  nearest  lake  to  the 
western  rim,  as  the  Great  Salt  Lake  is  to  the  eastern  rim  of 
the  Great  Basin  which  lies  between  the  base  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevada  —  and  the  extent  and 
character  of  which,  its  whole  circumference  and  contents,  it 
is  so  desirable  to  know. 

The  Indians  then  directed  him  to  a  river  of  which  he 
says : 

Groves  of  large  cottonwood,  which  we  could  see  at  the 
mouth,  indicated  that  it  was  a  stream  of  considerable  size, 
and,  at  all  events,  we  had  the  pleasure  to  know  that  now  we 
were  in  a  country  where  human  beings  could  live.  Reaching 
the  groves,  we  found  the  inlet  of  a  large  fresh-water  stream 
(the  Truckee  River),  and  all  at  once  were  satisfied  that  it 
was  neither  Mary's  River  nor  the  waters  of  the  Sacramento, 
but  that  we  had  discovered  a  large  interior  lake,  which  the 
Indians  informed  us  had  no  outlet.  It  is  about  35  miles 
long,  and,  by  the  mark  of  the  water-line  along  the  shore,  the 
spring  level  is  about  12  feet  above  its  present  waters. 

In  the  meantime,  such  a  salmon-trout  feast  as  is  seldom 
seen  was  going  on  in  our  camp,  and  every  variety  of  manner 
in  which  fish  could  be  prepared  —  boiled,  fried  and  roasted  in 
the  ashes  —  was  put  into  requisition;  and  every  few  minutes 
an  Indian  would  be  seen  running  off  to  spear  a  fresh  one. 
Whether  these  Indians  had  seen  whites  before,  we  could  not 
be  certain;  but  they  were  evidently  in  communication  with 
others  who  had,  as  one  of  them  had  some  brass  buttons,  and 
we  noticed  several  other  articles  of  civilized  manufacture. 
We  could  obtain  from  them  but  little  information  about  the 
country.  They  made  on  the  ground  a  drawing  of  the  river, 
which  they  represented  as  issuing  from  another  lake  in  the 
mountains  three  or  four  days  distant,  in  a  direction  a  little 
west  of  south;  beyond  which,  they  drew  a  mountain;  and 


22      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

further  still,  two  rivers;  on  one  of  which  they  told  us  that 
people  like  ourselves  traveled. 

They  still  wandered  to  the  south,  passing  near  where  Day- 
ton, Nevada,  now  is,  and  reaching  Bridgeport  and  Mono 
and  Twin  Lakes.  Here  they  struck  north  and  west  again 
and  soon  had  to  leave  the  howitzer.  Passing  through  An- 
telope Valley  they  reached  Markleeville  in  deep  snow,  passed 
Grover's  Springs,  entered  Faith  and  Hope  Valleys,  and  here 
it  was  Fremont  gained  his  view  of  Lake  Tahoe.  It  was 
February  14,   1844.     He  says: 

The  dividing  ridge  of  the  Sierra  is  in  sight  from  this  en- 
campment. Accompanied  by  Mr.  Preuss,  I  ascended  to-day 
the  highest  peak  to  the  right  [probably  Stevens  Peak,  10,100 
feet  above  sea-level] ,  from  which  we  had  a  beautiful  view  of 
a  mountain  lake  at  our  feet,  about  fifteen  miles  in  length, 
and  so  entirely  surrounded  by  mountains  that  we  could  not 
discover  an  outlet  [Lake  Tahoe].  We  had  taken  with  us  a 
glass,  but  though  we  enjoyed  an  extended  view,  the  valley 
was  half  hidden  in  mist,  as  when  we  had  seen  it  before. 
Snow  could  be  distinguished  on  the  higher  parts  of  the  coast 
mountains,  eastward,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  extend.  It 
ranged  over  a  terrible  mass  of  broken  snowy  mountains,  fad- 
ing off  blue  in  the  distance.  The  rock  composing  the  sum- 
mit consists  of  very  coarse,  dark,  volcanib  conglomerate ;  the 
lower  parts  appeared  to  be  of  a  slaty  structure.  The  highest 
trees  were  a  few  scattered  cedars  and  aspens.  From  the  im- 
mediate foot  of  the  peak,  we  were  two  hours  reaching  the 
summit,  and  one  hour  and  a  quarter  in  descending.  The 
day  had  been  very  bright,  still,  and  clear,  and  spring  seemed 
to  be  advancing  rapidly.  While  the  sun  is  in  the  sky  the 
snow  melts  rapidly,  and  gushing  springs  cover  the  face  of 
the  mountain  in  all  exposed  places,  but  their  surface  freezes 
instantly  with  the  disappearance  of  the  sun. 

I  obtained  to-night  some  observations,  and  the  result  from 
these,  and  others  made  during  our  stay,  gives  for  the  latitude 
38  dcg.  41'  57",  longitude  120  deg.  25'  57"  [the  correct 
longitude  for  this  place  is  119  deg.  58'],  and  rate  of  the 
chronometer  25.82. 


DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  23 

The  next  night  they  encamped  on  the  headwaters  of  a 
little  creek,  where  at  last  the  water  found  its  way  to  the 
Pacific.     The  following  morning  they  started  early. 

The  creek  acquired  a  regular  breadth  of  about  20  feet,  and 
we  soon  began  to  hear  the  rushing  of  water  below  the  icy 
surface,  over  which  we  traveled  to  avoid  the  snow;  a  few 
miles  below  we  broke  through,  where  the  water  was  several 
feet  deep,  and  halted  to  make  a  fire  and  dry  our  clothes.  We 
continued  a  few  miles  further,  walking  being  very  laborious 
without  snowshoes. 

I  was  now  perfectly  satisfied  that  we  had  struck  the  stream 
on  which  Mr.  Sutter  lived;  and,  turning  about,  made  a 
hard  push,  and  reached  the  camp  at  dark.  Here  we  had 
the  pleasure  to  find  all  the  remaining  animals,  57  in  num- 
ber, safely  arrived  at  the  grassy  hill  near  camp;  and  here, 
also,  we  were  agreeably  surprised  with  the  sight  of  an 
abundance  of  salt.  Some  of  the  horse-guard  had  gone  to  a 
neighboring  hut  for  pine  nuts,  and  discovered  unexpectedly 
a  large  cake  of  very  white,  fine  grained  salt,  which  the  In- 
dians told  them  they  had  brought  from  the  other  side  of  the 
mountain ;  they  used  it  to  eat  with  their  pine  nuts,  and 
readily  sold  it  for  goods. 

On  the  19th,  the  people  were  occupied  in  making  a  road 
and  bringing  up  the  baggage;  and,  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
next  day,  February  20,  we  encamped,  with  the  animals  and 
all  the  materiel  of  the  camp,  on  the  summit  of  the  pass 
[Carson  Pass,  at  the  head  of  Hope  Valley]  in  the  dividing 
ridge,  1000  miles  by  our  traveled  road  from  the  Dalles  to 
the  Columbia. 

The  people,  who  had  not  yet  been  to  this  point,  climbed 
the  neighboring  peak  to  enjoy  a  look  at  the  valley. 

The  temperature  of  boiling  water  gave  for  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  encampment,  9338   feet  above  the  sea. 

This  was  2000  feet  higher  than  the  South  Pass  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  several  peaks  in  view  rose  several 
thousand  feet  still  higher.  Thus,  at  the  extremity  of  the 
continent,  and  near  the  coast,  the  phenomenon  was  seen 
of  a  range  of  mountains  still  higher  than  the  great  Rocky 
Mountains   themselves.     This   extraordinary    fact    accounts 


24      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

for  the  Great  Basin,  and  shows  that  there  must  be  a  sys- 
tem of  small  lakes  and  rivers  scattered  over  a  flat  country, 
and  vi'hich  the  extended  and  lofty  range  of  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada prevents  from  escaping  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Lati- 
tude 38  deg.  44',  longitude  120  deg.  28'.  [This  latitude 
is  that  of  Stevens  Peak,  the  highest  in  that  ridge,  10,100 
feet,  and  of  course  he  did  not  go  over  the  top  of  that  peak, 
when  Carson  Pass,  1600  feet  lower,  was  in  plain  view; 
this  pass  is  the  lowest  one  visible  from  the  route  on  which 
they  had  come;  another  pass  much  lower  leads  out  from 
the  other  or  northern  end  of  Hope  Valley,  but  was  not 
visible  from  their  trail.  The  summit  of  Carson  Pass  is 
approximately  latitude  38  deg.  41'  50";  longitude  119  deg. 
59'.  Fremont's  longitude  readings  are  unreliable,  owing  to 
error  in  his  chronometer.] 

From  this  point  on,  following  the  south  fork  of  the 
American  River,  sixteen  days  from  the  summit  landed  Fre- 
mont and  his  party  at  Sutter's  Fort,  March  8.  Of  their 
arrival  Fremont  says: 

A  more  forlorn  and  pitiable  sight  than  they  presented 
cannot  well  be  imagined.  They  were  all  on  foot,  each  man 
weak  and  emaciated,  leading  a  horse  or  mule  as  weak  and 
emaciated  as  themselves.  They  had  experienced  great  dif- 
ficulty in  descending  the  mountains,  made  slippery  by  rains 
and  melting  snows,  and  many  horses  fell  over  precipices 
and  were  killed,  and  with  some  were  lost  the  packs  they 
carried.  Among  these  was  a  mule  with  the  plants  which 
we  had  collected  since  leaving  Fort  Hall,  along  a  line  of 
2000  miles  of  travel.  Out  of  67  horses  and  mules,  with 
which  we  commenced  crossing  the  Sierra,  only  33  reached 
the  valley  of  the  Sacramento,  and  they  only  in  a  condition 
to  be  led  along. 

In  concluding  this  chapter  it  should  not  be  overlooked 
that  on  his  maps  of  the  expedition  of  1843-44  Fremont 
called  the  mountain  lake  he  had  discovered  "  Lake  Bon- 
pland."  He  says  in  a  private  letter:  "  I  gave  to  the  basin 
river  its  name  of  Humboldt  and  to  the  mountain  lake  the 


A   WAbliUK   INDIAN    C  AMPOODIb,   NEAR   LAKESIDE   PARK, 
LAKE  TAHOE 


WASJIUE  INDL\NS  AT  LAKE  TAHOE 


•  TlIK  SI(..N.\1.  CODI-:"   DESIGN 


DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  25 

name  of  his  companion  traveler,  Bonpland,  and  so  put  it  in 
the  map  of  that  expedition." 

Amade  Bonpland  was  born  at  Rochelle,  France,  in  1773. 
He  was  educated  as  a  physician  but  became  a  noted  botanist. 
He  accompanied  Humboldt  to  America,  and  subsequently  be- 
came a  joint  author  with  the  great  traveler  and  scientist 
of  several  valuable  works  on  the  botany,  natural-history,  etc., 
of  the  New  World.  He  was  detained  as  a  prisoner  for 
nearly  ten  years  by  Dictator  Francia  of  Paraguay  to  pre- 
vent him  from,  or  to  punish  him  for,  attempting  to  culti- 
vate the  mate,  or  Paraguay  tea,  in  that  country.  He  died  in 
1858  at  Montevideo,  the  Capital  of  Uruguay,  in  South 
America. 

His  name  as  applied  to  Lake  Tahoe  is  practically  unknown, 
save  to  the  curious  investigator  or  historian.  Other  names 
given  by  Fremont  have  "  stuck  "  to  this  day,  amongst  them 
being  Humboldt,  Walker,  Owen,  Kern  and  Carson  rivers, 
Pyramid  and  Walker  lakes,  etc. 

The  vicissitudes  of  the  naming  of  Lake  Tahoe  is  of  suffi- 
cient interest  to  occupy  a  whole  chapter,  to  which  the  reader 
is  referred. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    INDIANS   OF    LAKE    TAHOE 

SINCE  Lake  Tahoe  was  the  natural  habitat  of  one  of 
the  most  deliciously  edible  fishes  found  in  the  world, 
the  Indians  of  the  region  were  bound,  very  early  in 
their  history  here,  to  settle  upon  its  shores.  These  were  the 
Paiutis  and  the  Washoes.  The  former,  however,  ranging 
further  east  in  Nevada,  were  always  regarded  as  interlo- 
pers by  the  latter  if  they  came  too  near  to  the  Lake,  and 
there  are  legends  current  of  several  great  struggles  in  which 
many  lives  were  lost,  where  the  Washoes  battled  with  the 
Paiutis  to  keep  them  from  this  favored  locality. 

Prior  to  the  coming  of  the  emigrant  bands  in  the  early 
'forties  of  the  last  century,  the  only  white  men  the  Indians 
ever  saw  were  occasional  trappers  who  wandered  into  the 
new  and  strange  land.  Then,  the  beautiful  Indian  name, 
soft  and  limpid  as  an  Indian  maiden's  eyes,  was  Wasiu  — 
not  the  harsh,  Anglicized,  Washoe.  Their  range  seemed  to 
be  from  Washoe  and  Carson  valleys  on  the  east  in  winter, 
up  to  Tahoe  and  over  the  Sierras  for  fishing  and  hunting 
in  the  summer.  They  never  ventured  far  westward,  as  the 
Monos  and  other  mountain  tribes  claimed  the  mountain  re- 
gions for  their  acorns  and  the  game  (deer,  etc.),  which 
abounded  there. 

While  in  the  early  days  of  the  settlements  of  whites  upon 
their  lands  the  Washoes  now  and  again  rose  in  protest, 
and  a  few  lives  were  lost,  in   the  main  they  have  been  a 

26 


THE  INDIANS  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  27 

peaceable  and  inoffensive  tribe.  The  Paiutis  were  far  more 
independent  and  warlike,  placing  their  yoke  upon  the  weaker 
tribe.  Indeed,  when  I  first  talked  with  the  older  Washoes 
and  Paiutis  thirty  years  ago  they  were  full  of  stories  of  big 
wars  between  themselves.  They  showed  me  rocks  near  to 
the  present  town  of  Verdi,  on  the  line  of  the  Southern  Pa- 
cific, on  which  their  ancestors  had  made  certain  inscrip- 
tions which  they  interpreted  as  warnings  to  the  Paiutis  not 
to  dare  trespass  beyond  that  sign,  and  the  Paiutis  had  simi- 
lar notices  inscribed  upon  bowlders  near  to  their  boundary 
lines.  As  a  result  of  one  of  their  fights  the  Washoes  were 
forbidden  the  use  of  horses,  and  it  is  only  since  the  whites 
have  exercised  control  that  the  weaker  tribe  has  dared  to  dis- 
regard this  prohibition. 

To-day  they  number  in  the  region  of  six  hundred  men, 
women  and  children.  On  account  of  their  nomadic  habits 
it  is  impossible  to  secure  a  complete  census. 

In  appearance  they  are  heavy  and  fat,  though  now  and 
again  a  man  of  fine,  muscular  form  and  good  height  is  found. 
The  women  have  broad,  shapeless  figures  and  clumsy,  de- 
liberate movements.  The  older  they  get  the  more  repulsive 
and  filthy  they  become.  While  young  some  of  the  women 
have  pleasing,  intelligent  and  alert  faces,  while  children  of 
both  sexes  are  attractive  and  interesting.  But  with  them 
as  with  all  aboriginal  people  who  have  absorbed  the  vices  and 
none  of  the  virtues  of  the  whites,  the  Washoes  are  fast  losing 
power,  vigor  and  strength  by  disease  and  dissipation.  The 
smoke  of  the  campoodie  fire  is  also  ruinous  to  their  eyes  and 
ophthalmia  is  prevalent  among  them.  It  is  no  uncommon 
thing  to  see  a  man  or  woman  entirely  blind. 

The  old-time  methods  of  clothing  have  entirely  disap- 
peared. When  I  first  knew  them  it  was  not  unusual  to  find 
an  old  Indian  wrapped  in  a  blanket  made  of  twisted  rabbit- 
skins,  but  I  doubt  if  one  could  be  found  to-day.     The  white 


28      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

man's  overalls,  blouse  and  ordinary  coat  and  vest  for  the  men, 
with  calico  in  variegated  colors  for  the  women,  seem  to  have 
completely  taken  the  place  of  their  own  primitive  dress.  A 
pair  of  moccasins,  however,  now  and  again,  may  be  found  in 
use  at  a  dance  or  on  some  special  occasion. 

They  still  paint  and  tattoo  their  faces,  hands  and  wrists, 
in  lines,  triangles  and  circles.  On  their  bodies  also  stripes 
of  irregular  design  and  varying  colors  are  often  used,  all 
having  a  symbolic  meaning  originally,  now  lost,  however,  at 
least  to  all  the  younger  members  of  the  tribe.  Painting  the 
face  has  a  definite  and  useful  purpose.  It  softens  the  skin 
and  prevents  the  frosts  of  winter  from  cracking  it. 

Their  dwellings  are  of  the  rudest  character,  mere  brush 
shacks  in  summer,  and  in  winter,  nondescript  structures  of 
brush,  old  boards,  railroad  ties,  tin  cans,  barrel-staves,  old 
carpet,  canvas,  anything  that  will  sustain  a  roof  and  keep 
out  wind,  rain  and  as  much  of  the  cold  as  possible.  Their 
name  for  this  structure  is  campoodie.  Of  course  there  is  no 
pretense  of  sanitation,  cleanliness  or  domestic  privacy.  The 
whole  family  herds  together  around  the  smoking  fire,  thus 
early  beginning  the  destruction  of  their  eyesight  by  the  never- 
ceasing  and  irritating  smoke. 

Their  native  food  consists  of  fish,  the  products  of  the 
chase,  which  include  deer,  antelope,  an  occasional  bear,  rab- 
bits, squirrels  and  even  coyotes,  mountain-lions  and  wild- 
cats, with  acorns,  manzanita  berries,  currants  and  the  seeds  of 
wild  peaches  and  the  various  grasses,  together  with  a  large 
assortment  of  roots.  While  they  gather  and  eat  pine  nuts, - 
they  generally  save  them  for  purposes  of  barter  or  sale. 
Their  carrying  baskets  contain  a  good  wheelbarrow  load  and 
are  called  mo-ke-wit. 

They  are  great  gamblers,  their  chief  game  being  a  guess- 
ing contest,  where  sides  are  chosen,  the  fortune  of  each  side 
depending  on  its  ability  to  guess  who  holds  a  certain  decor- 


DAL-SO-LA-LE,  THE  ARTISTIC  WASHOE  BASKET  MAKER 


THE  INDIANS  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  29 

ated  stick.  Men  and  women  alike  play  the  game,  though 
generally  the  sexes  separate  and  play  by  themselves.  Quiet 
chanting  or  singing  often  accompanies  the  game.  All  alike 
smoke  the  cigarette. 

Of  their  religious  beliefs  little  can  be  said.  The  fact  is 
their  simple  nature-worship  and  the  superstitions  connected 
with  it  have  been  abolished,  practically,  by  their  association 
with  the  whites,  and  we  have  given  them  nothing  as  substi- 
tutes.    As  Mrs.  W.  W.  Price  says  in  a  letter  to  me: 

In  several  talks  with  Susan  and  Jackson,  after  the  death 
of  Susan's  sister,  I  endeavored  to  find  out  some  of  their 
religious  beliefs.  But  these  talks  were  not  very  satisfactory. 
Neither  one  knew  what  he  did  believe.  Their  old  Indian 
religion  —  whatever  it  may  have  been  —  seemed  to  have 
passed,  and  the  religion  of  the  white  man  had  not  taken 
very  deep  hold. 

While  Susan  felt  that  she  must  cut  her  hair  short  and 
burn  all  her  sister's  things  and  do  just  so  much  wailing 
each  day  to  drive  off  the  evil  spirits  (on  the  occasion  of 
her  sister's  death),  she  took  most  comfort  in  doing  as  "  white 
woman  "  do  —  putting  on  a  black  dress. 

The  most  interesting  result  of  my  talks  with  Jackson 
was  the  following  ghost  story,  which  he  told  me  to  show 
that  Indians  sometimes  did  live  again  after  death.  His 
grandmother  had  told  him  the  story  and  had  heard  it  her- 
self from  the  man  to  whom  it  had  happened.  It  is  as  fol- 
lows: "An  Indian  woman  died,  leaving  a  little  child  and 
her  husband.  The  latter  spent  the  accustomed  four  days 
and  nights  watching  at  her  grave  without  food  or  drink. 
On  the  fourth  night  the  grave  suddenly  opened  and  the 
woman  stepped  out  before  him.  *  Give  me  my  child,'  said 
she.  The  man  said  not  a  word  but  went  quickly  and 
brought  the  little  child.  The  woman  did  not  speak  but 
took  the  child  and  suckled  it.  Then  holding  it  close  in 
her  arms,  she  began  to  walk  slowly  away.  The  man  fol- 
lowed her,  but  he  did  not  speak.  On,  on  they  went,  through 
forest  and  meadow,  up  hill  and  down  dale. 

"  By  and  by  the  man  made  a  movement  as  though  he  would 


30      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

take  hold  of  her  to  stop  her.  But  the  woman  warded  him 
off  with  a  wave  of  her  hand.  *  Touch  me  not,'  she  said. 
'  If  you  touch  me,  you  must  die  too !  '  She  stood  and 
suckled  the  child  once  more,  then  laid  him  gently  in  her 
husband's  arms.  '  Go  home,'  she  said,  and  faded  from  his 
sight. 

"  Home  he  went  with  the  child,  full  of  awe  and  fear. 

"  A  few  days  afterwards  the  child  died,  though  there 
was  nothing  the  matter  with  it.  The  man,  however,  lived 
to  be  very  old." 

Jackson  was  not  sure  whether  he  believed  this  story  or 
not.  But  his  manner  of  telling  it  indicated  that  it  was  very 
real  to  him. 

Now  and  again  near  Tallac  one  may  see  one  of  the  dances 
of  the  Washoes.  Though  war  is  past  with  them  they  still 
occasionally  indulge  in  their  War  Dance  and  its  consequent 
Scalp  Dance.  There  are  not  more  than  ten  or  a  dozen  of 
the  old  warriors  still  living  who  actually  engaged  in  war- 
fare in  the  old  days,  and  these  are  too  old  and  feeble  to 
dance.  But  as  the  young  men  sing  and  throw  their  arms 
and  limbs  about  in  the  growing  frenzy  of  the  arousing  dance, 
and  the  tom-tom  throbs  its  stimulating  beat  through  the  air, 
these  old  men's  eyes  flash,  and  their  quavering  voices  be- 
come steady  and  strong  in  the  excitement,  and  they  live  in  the 
conflicts  of  the  past. 

Another  of  the  dances  that  is  still  kept  up  is  the  Puberty 
Dance.  Many  white  people  have  seen  this,  but  not  having 
any  clew  to  its  significance,  it  seemed  absurd  and  frivolous. 
When  a  girl  enters  the  door  of  young  womanhood  the 
Washoe  idea  is  to  make  this  an  occasion  for  developing  wiri- 
ness,  strength,  and  vigor.  Contrary  to  the  method  of  the 
white  race,  she  is  made,  for  four  consecutive  days,  to  exert 
herself  to  the  utmost.  She  must  walk  and  climb  mountains, 
ride  and  run,  and  when  night  comes  on  the  fourth  day,  she 
and  her  mother,  and  as  many  of  the  tribe  as  are  available. 


THE  INDIANS  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  31 

begin  to  dance  at  sunset  and  keep  it  up  all  night.  The  girl 
herself  is  designated  by  a  long  and  slim  pole  which  she  car- 
ries in  her  hand,  and  which  towers  above  her  head.  By  her 
side  stands  her  mother.  The  leader  of  the  dance  begins  a 
song,  a  simple,  rhythmic,  weird  chant,  the  words  of  which 
are  archaic  and  have  no  significance  to  the  Indians  of  to-day, 
but  merely  give  syllables  to  hang  the  tune  upon.  As  the 
leader  sings  he  slowly  moves  his  legs  in  a  kind  of  oblique 
walk.  The  young  men  take  his  hand  and  follow.  The 
women  unite,  and  a  rude  circle  is  made,  generally,  how- 
ever, open,  at  the  place  where  the  dance-leader  stands. 
After  once  or  twice  around,  the  leader  moves  first  one  foot, 
then  the  other,  sideways,  at  the  same  time  jogging  his  body 
up  and  down  in  fairly  rapid  movement,  in  perfect  time  to  his 
song.  In  a  few  moments  all  are  bobbing  up  and  down, 
with  the  onward  side-shuffling  movement,  and  the  real  dance 
is  on.  This  continues  according  to  the  will  of  the  leader. 
When  his  voice  gives  a  sudden  drawling  drop  that  dance 
ends.  There  are  a  few  minutes  for  relaxation  and  breath, 
and  then  he  lines  out  a  new  song,  with  new  syllables,  and 
a  new  dance  begins.  This  continues  practically  all  night, 
the  dance-leader  showing  his  memory  power  or  his  compos- 
ing genius  by  the  number  of  new  songs  he  introduces.  I 
have  counted  as  many  as  thirty  to  forty  different  tunes  on 
one  occasion. 

Just  at  sunrise  the  mother  of  the  girl  fetches  one  or  two 
buckets  of  cold  water,  while  the  maiden  undresses.  The 
water  is  suddenly  dashed  over  her  "  to  m.ake  her  vigorous 
and  strong,"  and  the  dance  comes  to  an  end. 

This  rude  and  rough  treatment,  in  the  early  days,  was 
made  to  have  all  the  potency  and  sanctity  of  a  religious  rite. 
The  reason  for  it  was  clear.  The  Washoes  were  surrounded 
by  people  with  whom  they  were  often  at  war.  Indian  war- 
fare takes  no  cognizance  of  sex  or  its  special  disabilities.     In 


32      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

order  that  their  women  should  not  be  regarded  as  hors  de 
combat,  or  enfeebled,  at  such  times  and  thus  hamper  the 
movement  of  the  tribe  in  case  a  sudden  flight  was  needed,  the 
shamans  or  medicine  men  taught  that  strength,  activity  and 
vigor  were  just  as  possible  at  that  time  as  any  other. 
"  Those  Above  "  commanded  that  it  be  so.  Hence  all  the 
sanctity  and  seriousness  of  a  religious  rite  was  thrown  around 
these  dances,  and  though  the  Indians  of  to-day  have  lost 
many  of  their  old  customs,  this  is  one  that  is  still  rigorously 
observed. 

Another  singular  custom  that  still  obtains  is  where,  after 
the  birth  of  a  first  child,  the  husband  and  father  is  required 
to  fast  and  work  arduously  from  the  day  of  the  birth  until 
the  child's  navel  shrivels  off.  This  is  to  make  him  strong 
and  vigorous,  so  that  he  may  be  able  to  give  as  much  strength 
to  his  second  and  later  children  as  he  did  to  the  first. 

As  soon  as  a  girl  matures  she  is  marriageable.  Several 
and  simple  are  the  ways  in  which  a  Washoe  youth  shows 
his  preference  and  desire  for  marriage.  Equally  simple  are 
the  girl's  signs  of  acceptance  or  rejection.  There  is  no  cere- 
mony as  the  White  Race  understands  that  term,  though  to 
the  Indian  there  is  everything  that  is  necessary  to  make  the 
rite  as  binding  as  it  is  to  his  white  brother  and  sister. 

Though  polygamy  has  always  been  practiced,  the  custom 
to-day  limits  the  wives  to  two,  and  only  a  few  men  have 
more  than  one  wife.  Where  plural  wives  are  taken  they 
are  generally  sisters.  There  is  little  intermarriage  among 
oiher  tribes.  Though  it  occasionally  occurs  it  is  fiercely 
frowned  upon  and  all  parties  are  made  to  feel  uncomfortable. 

Prostitution  with  the  whites  and  Chinese  is  not  uncom- 
mon, and  children  born  of  such  relationship  have  just  as  good 
a  standing  as  those  born  in  wedlock.  The  Indian  sees  no 
sense  in  punishing  an  innocent  child  for  what  it  is  in  no 
way  responsible  for.     He  frankly  argues  that  only  a  silly 


THE  INDIANS  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  33 

fool  of  a  white  man  or  woman  would  do  so  cruel  and  idiotic 
a  thing. 

Children  are  invariably  welcomed  and  made  much  of  at 
birth,  though  it  is  seldom  a  Washoe  woman  has  more  than 
four  or  five  babies.  They  are  always  nursed  by  the  mother, 
and  not  often  weaned  until  they  are  four  or  five  years  old. 

In  the  early  days  the  labor  of  the  sexes  was  clearly  de- 
fined. The  man  was  the  hunter  and  the  warrior,  the  guard- 
ian of  the  family.  The  woman  was  the  gatherer  of  the 
seeds,  the  preparer  of  the  food,  the  care-taker  of  the  chil- 
dren. To-day  there  is  not  much  difference  in  the  division 
of  labor.  The  breaking  down  of  all  the  old  customs  by  con- 
tact with  the  whites  has  made  men  and  women  alike  indif- 
ferent to  what  work  they  do  so  that  the  family  larder  and 
purse  are  replenished  thereby. 

In  the  early  days  the  Washoes  were  expert  hunters  of 
bear  and  deer.  They  used  to  cross  over  into  the  mountains 
of  California  for  this  purpose,  and  the  women  would  ac- 
company them.  A  camp  would  be  established  just  below 
the  snow  line,  and  while  the  men  and  youths  went  out  hunt- 
ing the  women  gathered  acorns.  My  informant,  an  old  In- 
dian, was  a  lad  of  eighteen  at  the  time  of  which  he  spoke. 
In  effect  he  said:  "  One  day  while  I  was  out  I  found  the 
tracks  of  a  bear  which  I  followed  to  a  cave.  Then  I  went 
to  camp.  But  we  Indians  are  not  like  you  white  men.  You 
would  have  rushed  In  and  shouted  to  everybody,  '  I've  found 
a  bear's  track! '  Instead  I  waited  until  night  and  when  all 
the  squaws  had  gone  to  bed  I  leisurely  told  the  men  who 
were  chatting  around  the  camp  fire.  They  wished  to  know 
if  I  knew  where  the  cave  was,  and  of  course  I  assured  them 
I  could  go  directly  to  It.  The  next  morning  early  my  uncle 
quietly  aroused  me,  saying,  *  Let's  go  and  get  that  bear.'  I 
was  scared  but  had  to  go.  When  we  arrived  he  took  some 
pieces  of  pitch-pine  from  his  pocket,  and  lighting  them,  gave 


34      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

me  one,  and  told  me  to  stand  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave  ready 
to  shoot  the  bear,  while  he  went  in  and  drove  it  out.  I 
didn't  like  the  idea,  but  I  daren't  confess  my  cowardice,  for 
he  at  once  went  in.  In  a  few  moments  I  heard  terrific 
growHngs  and  roarings  and  then  the  bear  rushed  out.  I 
banged  away  and  he  fell,  and  I  was  proud  to  tell  my  uncle, 
when  he  came  out,  that  I  had  killed  the  bear.  '  No,  you 
didn't,'  said  he ;  '  your  shots  all  went  wild.  Here's  the  shot 
that  killed  him,'  and  sure  enough  it  was  a  shot  of  a  different 
size  from  that  of  my  gun." 

"  Another  time  when  I  found  a  bear  in  a  cave  he  said, 
*  You  must  go  in  this  time  and  drive  out  the  bear.'  I  was 
sure  I  couldn't  do  it,  but  he  insisted,  and  thrusting  the 
lighted  sticks  into  my  hands  bade  me  crawl  in,  keeping  my 
eyes  fixed  the  while,  as  soon  as  I  saw  them,  upon  those  of 
the  bear.  I  was  to  keep  my  back  to  the  wall,  and  when 
I  got  well  in,  was  to  dash  the  light  behind  the  bear  and 
give  a  yell.  I  crawled  in  all  right  and  soon  got  to  where  I 
could  just  about  stand  up,  but  when  I  saw  the  bear  and  he 
began  to  growl  I  was  scared  and  backed  out  pretty  quick  and 
said  I  didn't  have  light  enough.  My  uncle  grabbed  the 
sticks  from  me,  called  me  a  coward,  rushed  in,  and  as  the 
bear  dashed  out  shot  and  killed  it." 

It  is  generally  thought  that  Indians  are  good  shots,  but| 
the  testimony  of  the  hunters  of  the  Tahoe  region  is  that] 
the  Washoes  are  very   poor   shots.     One   hunter   tells   me  I 
he  has  seen  an  Indian  take  as  fine  a  standing  shot  as  one' 
need  desire,  again  and  again,  and  miss  every  time.     On  one 
occasion  he  was  hunting  deer  with  an  Indian.     The  latter 
had  gone  up  a  steep  slope,  when,  suddenly,  he  began  to  fire, 
and  kept  it  up  until  fourteen  shots  were  fired.     Said  he:     "I 
was  sure  he  must  have  a  bunch  of  deer  and  was  making  a 
big  killing,  and  hurried  up  to  his  side.     When  I  got  there 
I  found  he  had  sent  all  those  shot  after  one  buck,  and  had 


THE  INDIANS  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  35 

succeeded  only  in  breaking  its  leg.  With  one  shot  I  killed 
the  wounded  animal,  went  up  to  it  and  was  about  to  cut  its 
throat,  when  he  begged  me  not  to  do  so,  asserting  that  if  I 
cut  the  deer's  throat  that  way  I  should  never  get  a  standing 
shot  again,  the  deer  would  always  be  able  to  smell  me." 

This  is  a  quaint  superstition.  The  Indians  believe  that 
though  the  particular  deer  be  slain  it  has  the  power  of  com- 
municating with  living  deer  and  informing  them  of  the  pe- 
culiar "  smell  "  of  the  hunter.  Hence,  as  in  the  olden  days 
they  had  no  guns,  only  bows  and  arrows,  and  were  com- 
pelled to  creep  up  much  nearer  to  their  prey  than  is  needful 
with  a  gun,  anything  that  seemed  to  add  to  the  deer's  power 
of  scenting  the  hunter  must  studiously  be  avoided. 

And,  although  the  gun  had  rendered  the  old  methods  of 
hunting  unnecessary,  this  particular  precaution  still  per- 
sisted and  had  all  the  force  of  established  custom. 

My  friend  then  continued:  "Another  superstition  I 
found  out  as  I  cleaned  this  deer.  I  cut  out  the  paunch,  the 
heart  and  the  liver  and  offered  them  to  the  Indian.  He  re- 
fused them,  saying  it  was  food  fit  only  for  women,  children 
and  old  men.  If  he  were  to  eat  them  he  would  never  have 
luck  in  hunting  again." 

This  superstition  is  common  with  many  Indian  tribes.  It 
is  based  upon  the  idea  that  one  becomes  like  that  which  he 
eats.  If  one  eats  the  heart  of  a  mountain-lion  or  bear  he 
becomes  daring  and  courageous.  But  to  eat  the  heart  of 
the  timid  deer  is  to  make  oneself  timorous  and  cowardly. 

As  soon  after  puberty  as  possible  a  boy  is  taken  out  by 
his  father  or  uncle  on  a  hunt.  Prior  to  that  time  he  is  not 
allowed  to  go.  But  before  he  can  eat  of  the  product  of  the 
chase  he  must  himself  kill  a  deer  with  large  enough  horns 
to  allow  him  to  crawl  through  them. 

A  friend  of  mine  was  out  with  a  Washoe  Indian  whose 
boy  was  along  on  his  first  hunting  expedition.     They  hunted 


36      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

a  deer  for  nearly  three  days,  but  as  soon  as  they  found  tracks 
the  father,  after  studying  them  awhile,  said:  "This  a  little 
fellow.  No  good.  He  not  big  enough  "  —  thus  signifying 
to  his  son  that  his  horns  were  not  large  enough  to  allow  him 
to  crawl  through,  hence  it  was  no  use  following  the  animal 
further. 

The  Indian  is  quite  sure  that  deer  can  smell  him  and 
know  when  he  is  on  the  hunt.  He  becomes  skillful  in  de- 
tecting and  following  their  tracks,  and  knows  just  how  to 
circle  around  their  hiding-place  and  suddenly  walk  in  upon 
them.  My  friend,  referred  to  above,  who  is  a  great  hunter, 
was  once  out  with  a  Washoe.  They  had  had  three  "  bad  " 
days,  when  suddenly  they  found  a  deer's  track.  It  was 
fresh,  but  when  they  came  to  the  hole  where  he  had  lain 
down  to  rest,  though  the  place  was  quite  warm,  the  deer  had 
gone.  The  Indian  at  once  exclaimed :  "  That  deer  smell 
me.  I  must  get  rid  of  the  Indian  smell."  Accordingly  he 
scooped  out  a  hole  in  the  ground,  heated  a  number  of  rocks 
in  it,  then,  spreading  fir  boughs  over  them,  lay  down  over 
the  rocks  and  took  a  "  fir-sweat  "  for  fully  ten  to  fifteen 
minutes.  As  he  arose  he  exclaimed :  "  Deer  no  smell  me 
to-morrow,"  and  my  friend  said  he  did  no  longer  smell  like 
an  Indian,  but  like  burnt  fir  wood. 

Turning  to  the  Indian,  however,  he  said:  "You're  all 
right,  but  how  about  me?"  to  which  the  reply  instantly 
came :  "  You  all  right.  Deer  only  smell  Indian.  He  not 
smell  white  man." 

Chief  among  the  women's  work  is  the  making  of  baskets. 
The  best  Washoe  basket  makers  are  not  surpassed  by  any 
weavers  in  the  world.  At  Tallac,  Fallen  Leaf,  Glen  Alpine 
and  several  other  resorts  basket-makers  may  be  found,  pre- 
paring their  splints,  weaving  or  trying  to  sell  their  baskets. 

Not  far  from  Tahoe  Tavern,  about  a  quarter  a  mile  away 
in  the  direction  of  Tahoe  City,  is  the  little  curio  store  of 


THE  INDIANS  OF  LAKE  TAHOE  37 

A.  Cohn,  whose  headquarters  are  in  Carson  City,  the  capital 
of  the  State  of  Nevada.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cohn  hold  a  unique 
position  in  their  particular  field.  Some  twenty-five  years 
ago  they  purchased  a  beautiful  basket  from  a  Washoe  Indian 
woman,  named  Dat-so-la-le  in  Washoe,  or  Luisa  Keyser  in 
American,  for  she  was  the  wife  of  Charley  Keyser,  a  general 
roustabout  Indian,  well  known  to  the  citizens  of  Carson. 
Luisa  was  a  large,  heavy,  more  than  buxom  —  literally  a 
fat, —  ungainly  squaw.  But  her  fingers  were  under  the  per- 
fect control  of  a  remarkably  artistic  brain.  She  was  not 
merely  an  artist  but  a  genius.  She  saw  exquisite  baskets  in 
her  dreams,  and  had  the  patience,  persistence  and  determina- 
tion to  keep  on  weaving  until  she  was  able  to  reproduce  them 
in  actuality.  She  also  was  possessed  by  an  indomitable  reso- 
lution to  be  the  maker  of  the  finest  baskets  of  the  Washoe 
tribe.  While  she  was  still  a  young  woman  she  gained  the 
goal  of  her  ambition,  and  it  was  just  about  this  time  that 
she  offered  one  of  her' baskets  to  Mr.  Cohn.  He  saw  it 
was  an  excellent  basket,  that  the  shape  was  perfect,  the 
color-harmony  superior  to  any  he  had  seen  before,  the  stitch 
small,  fine,  and  even,  the  weave  generally  perfect,  the  de- 
sign original  and  worked  out  with  artistic  ability.  He  saw 
all  this,  yet,  because  it  was  Indian  work,  and  the  woman 
was  a  rude,  coarse  mountain  of  flesh,  a  feminine  Falstaff,  of 
a  lower  order  of  beings  and  without  Falstaff's  geniality  and 
wit,  he  passed  the  basket  by  as  merely  worth  a  dollar  or 
two  extra,  and  placed  it  side  by  side  with  the  work  of  other 
Washoe  and  Paiuti  squaws.  A  Salt  Lake  dealer  came  into 
the  store  soon  thereafter  and  saw  this  basket.  "  How 
much  ? "  he  asked.  The  price  was  given  —  rather  high 
thought  Mr.  Cohn  — .  "  Twenty-five  dollars!  "  "  I'll  take 
it!"  came  the  speedy  response. 

A  month  or  two  later  Cohn  received  a  photograph  from 
the  purchaser,  accompanied  by  a  letter.     "  You  know  the 


38      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

basket,  herewith  photographed,  which  I  purchased  from  you. 
Have  you  any  more  by  the  same  weaver,  or  of  as  good  a 
weave?  If  so,  how  many,  and  at  what  price?  Wire  re- 
ply at  my  expense." 

Then  Mr.  Cohn  awoke,  and  he's  been  awake  ever  since. 
He  wired  his  h'st  of  Dat-so-la-le's  baskets,  but  he  has  had 
no  reply,  and  that  was  twenty-five  years  ago.  He  then 
made  arrangements  with  Dat-so-la-le  and  her  husband.  He 
provides  them  house,  food,  clothing  and  a  certain  amount  of 
cash  yearly,  and  he  takes  all  the  work  Luisa  makes.  Every 
basket  as  soon  as  begun  is  noted  as  carefully  as  every  breed- 
ing of  a  thoroughbred  horse  or  dog.  Also  the  date  the  bas- 
ket is  finished.  It  is  then  numbered  and  photographed  and 
either  offered  for  sale  at  a  certain  price,  which  is  never 
changed,  or  is  put  in  the  safety-deposit  vault  of  the  bank, 
to  await  the  time  when  such  aboriginal  masterpieces  will  be 
eagerly  sought  after  by  the  growingly  intelligent  and  ap-, 
preciative  of  our  citizens,  for  their  museums  or  collections,] 
as  specimens  of  work  of  a  people  —  the  first  American 
families  —  who  will  then,  possibly,  have  passed  away.  The 
photographs,  here  reproduced,  are  of  some  of  Dat-so-la-le'sj 
finest  work. 


SUSIE 


THE  WASHOE  INDIAN  BASKET  MAKER,  AND  NARRATOR 
OF  INDIAN  LEGENDS 


JACKSON,  THE  WASHOE  INDIAN,  TELLING  TRADITIONS  OF  HIS 
PEOPLE  ABOUT  LAKE  TAHOE  AND  FALLEN  LEAF  LAKE 


CHAPTER  IV 

INDIAN    LEGENDS    OF   THE   TAHOE    REGION 

AS  all  Students  of  the  Indian  are  well  aware  these 
aboriginal  and  out-of-door  dwellers  in  the  forests, 
canyons,  mountains,  valleys,  and  on  lake  and  sea- 
shores are  great  observers  of  Nature,  and  her  many  and 
varied  phenomena.  He  who  deems  the  Indian  dull,  stolid 
and  unimpressionable,  simply  because  in  the  presence  of  the 
White  Race  he  is  reserved  and  taciturn,  little  knows  the  ob- 
serving and  reflecting  power  hidden  behind  so  self-restrained 
a  demeanor.  Wherever  natural  objects,  therefore,  are  of 
a  peculiar,  striking,  unusual,  unique,  or  superior  character, 
it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  the  Indians,  living  within 
sight  of  them,  should  possess  myths,  legends,  folk-lore,  crea- 
tion-stories or  the  like  in  connection  with  their  creation, 
preservation,  or  present-day  existence.  This  is  found  ex- 
emplified in  the  legends  of  Havasupais,  Hopis,  Navajos  and 
Wallapais  as  to  the  origin  of  the  Grand  Canyon  of  Ari- 
zona, of  the  Yohamities,  Monos,  Chuc-Chances,  and  others, 
of  the  distinctive  features  of  the  Yosemite  Valley,  the 
Hetch-Hetchy,   etc. 

While  the  present-day,  'half-educated,  half-civilized 
Washoes  are  by  no  means  representatives  of  the  highest  ele- 
ments of  natural  enlightenment  among  the  Indian  race,  they 
do  possess  legends  about  Tahoe,  the  following  being  the  most 
interesting. 

All  these  stories,  except  the  last,  were  gathered  by  Mrs. 

39 


40      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

W.  W.  Price  of  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge,  from  Indians  with 
whom  she  has  been  very  familiar  for  several  years,  named 
Jackson  and  his  wife  Susan.  There  has  been  no  attempt  to 
dress  them  up  in  literary  fashion.  They  are  given  as  near 
to  the  Indians'  mode  of  telling  as  possible.  They  are  won- 
derfully different  from  certain  stories  recently  published  in 
current  magazines,  professing  to  be  Legends  of  Lake  Tahoe. 
These  latter  are  pure  fiction,  and  to  those  familiar  with 
Indian  thought,  reveal  their  origin  in  the  imaginative  brain 
of  white  writers  who  have  but  faint  conceptions  of  Indian 
mentality.  Mrs.  Price  is  a  graduate  of  Stanford  University, 
and  took  great  pains  to  preserve  the  Indians'  exact  mode  of 
expression.     As  she  herself  writes: 

Long  before  the  white  man  saw  and  wondered  over  the 
beauty  of  Tahoe,  theorizing  over  its  origin  and  concocting 
curious  tales  about  its  "  unfathomable  "  depths,  the  Indians 
knew  and  loved  it.  And  as  among  all  other  peoples,  legends 
have  grown  up  to  account  for  every  phenomenon  of  Nature, 
so  among  the  Washoe  Indians  stories  about  Tahoe  have 
been  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation. 

I  do  not  vouch  for  these  legends.  The  modern  Indian 
too  often  tells  what  he  thinks  you  want  to  know, —  if  only 
you  will  cross  his  hand  with  silver.  But  there  are  touches 
here  and  there  that  make  me  feel  that  for  the  most  part 
they  are  remnants  of  very  old  legends. 

THE    ORIGIN    OF   TAHOE,    FALLEN    LEAF,    AND    OTHER    LAKES 

Long,  long  ago,  before  the  white  man  came  to  Nevada, 
there  lived  in  the  meadow  over  beyond  Glenbrook  a  good 
Indian.  But  though  he  was  good,  he  was  much  annoyed 
by  the  Evil  Spirit,  who  constantly  interfered  with  all  that 
he  tried  to  do.  Finally,  he  determined  that  he  must  move 
away  and  get  over  into  the  valleys  of  California.  But  when 
he  tried  to  escape,  the  Evil  One  was  always  there  ready  to 
trip  him  in  some  way  or  other. 

In  his  trouble  the  Good  Spirit  came  to  his  aid,  giving  him 
a  leafy  branch  which  had  certain  magic  qualities.     He  was 


INDIAN  LEGENDS  OF  TAHOE  REGION      41 

to  start  on  his  journey.  If  he  saw  the  Evil  One  coming 
he  was  to  drop  a  bit  of  the  branch  and  water  would  imme- 
diately spring  up.  The  Evil  One  could  not  cross  water, 
and  thus,  being  delayed  by  going  around,  would  give  the 
Indian  time  to  escape. 

The  Indian  made  his  way  well  along  to  where  Tallac 
Hotel  now  is,  when,  looking  back,  he  saw  the  Evil  One  off 
in  the  distance  approaching  with  such  strides  that  his  heart 
was  filled  with  great  fear.  In  his  terror  he  tried  to  pluck 
a  leaf  but  it  snapped  off  and  he  dropped  almost  his  whole 
branch.  To  his  delight  and  relief  the  waters  began  to 
rise  and  soon  "  Tahoe  " — Big  Water  —  lay  between  him 
and  his  enemy. 

Free-heartedly  he  hurried  on  his  way  up  the  canyon,  but 
when  he  reached  the  spot  where  the  head  of  Fallen  Leaf 
Lake  lies,  he  turned  to  reassure  himself.  Away  off  the  Evil 
One  was  advancing.  A  new  terror  filled  his  soul.  In  his 
hand  there  remained  of  his  magic  branch  only  one  little 
twig  with  a  single  leaf  on  it. 

Plucking  the  leaf,  he  threw  It  down  and  watched  it  fall 
waveringly  through  the  air.  As  it  touched  earth  the  waters 
again  began  to  rise  and  "  Doolagoga  " —  Fallen  Leaf  — 
sprang  into  being  and  on  its  surface  floated  the  little  leaf,  as 
many  leaves  now  float  in  the  fall  of  the  year. 

Turning,  he  sped  up  the  ravine,  dropping  bits  of  his  twig 
as  fear  directed  him,  and  in  his  path,  Lily,  Grass,  and 
Heather  lakes  came  up  to  guard  his  way. 

At  last  he  was  over  the  crest  of  the  mountain  and  found 
himself  safe  in  the  long-wished-for  Valley  of  California. 

THE    LEGEND   OF   THE   TWO    BROTHERS 

Once  long  ago  in  Paiuti-land,  Nevada,  there  lived 
two  brothers.  The  older  was  a  hunter  and  brought  home 
much  game.  His  wife,  whose  name  was  Duck,  used  to 
cook  this  for  him,  but  she  was  very  stingy  to  the  younger 
brother,  and  often  times  he  was  hungry.  When  he  begged 
her  for  food,  she  scolded  him  and  drove  him  out  of  the 
campoodie,  saying,  "  Got  none  for  you." 

One  day  when  the  older  brother  was  off  hunting  Duck 
was  cleaning  some  fish.     She  had  been  very  cross  to  Little 


42      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Brother,  refusing  to  give  him  any  food,  and  he  was  terribly 
hungry.  Presently  he  came  creeping  up  behind  her  and 
when  he  saw  all  the  fish  he  became  very  angry.  He  took 
up  a  big  club  and  before  Duck  could  turn  around  he  hit 
her  on  the  head  and  killed  her.  Paying  no  attention  to 
her  dead  body  he  cooked  and  ate  all  the  fish  he  wanted 
and  then  lay  down  in  the  sunshine  on  a  big  rock  and  went 
fast   asleep. 

By  and  by  his  Hunter  Brother  came  home.  Of  course 
when  he  found  his  wife  dead,  he  was  filled  with  great  anger 
at  his  young  brother,  though  his  anger  was  lessened  when 
he  thought  of  his  wife's  cruelty.  He  shook  him  very 
roughly  and  said,  "  I  no  like  you  any  more !  I  go  away. 
Leave  you  alone!"  But  Little  Brother  begged,  "Don't 
be  angry!  Don't  be  angry!  Let's  go  far  away!  I  help 
you  all  the  time!     Don't  be  angry!" 

Gradually  he  persuaded  the  Hunter  Brother  to  forgive 
him  and  they  started  off  together  toward  the  "  Big  Water  " 
—  Lake  Tahoe.  On  the  way  the  Hunter  Brother  taught 
the  Little  Brother  how  to  shoot  with  a  bow  and  arrow. 
By  the  time  they  reached  the  spot  now  known  as  Lakeside 
both  their  belts  were  filled  with  squirrels  that  they  had 
shot. 

At  dusk  they  built  a  good  fire  and  when  there  were 
plenty  of  glowing  coals,  Hunter  Brother  dug  a  long  hole, 
and  filling  it  with  embers,  laid  the  squirrels  in  a  row  on  the 
coals  covering  them  all  up  with  earth. 

He  was  tired  and  lay  down  by  the  fire  to  rest  till  the 
squirrels  should  be  cooked.  With  his  head  resting  on  his 
arms,  the  warmth  of  the  fire  soothing  him,  he  soon  fell  fast, 
fast  asleep. 

Little  Brother  sat  by  the  fire  and  as  the  night  grew  darker, 
he  grew  hungrier  and  hungrier.  He  tried  to  waken  his 
brother,  but  the  latter  seemed  almost  like  one  dead  and  he 
could  not  rouse  him.  At  last  he  made  up  his  mind  he 
would  eat  by  himself.  Going  to  the  improvised  oven,  he 
began  to  dig  up  the  squirrels,  counting  them  as  they  came 
to  light.     One  was  missing.     Little  Brother  was  troubled. 

"  How  that  ?     My  brother  had  so  many,  I  had  so  many !  " 


I 


INDIAN  LEGENDS  OF  TAHOE  REGION       43 

—  counting  on  his  fingers — "  One  gone!  "  And  he  forgot 
how  hungry  he  was  as  he  dug  for  the  missing  squirrel. 

All  at  once  he  came  upon  a  bigger  hole  adjoining  the 
cooking  hole.  While  he  stood  wondering  what  to  do,  out 
popped   a   great   big  spider. 

"  I'll  catch  you!  "  cried  the  spider. 

"  No,  you  won't !  "  said  the  boy,  and  up  he  jumped  and 
away  he  ran,  followed  by  the  spider.  They  raced  over 
stock  and  stone,  dodging  about  trees  and  stumbling  over 
fallen  logs  for  a  long  time.  At  last  Little  Brother  could 
run  no  more.  The  spider  grabbed  him  and  carried  him 
back  to  his  hole,  where  he  killed  him. 

It  was  almost  daybreak  when  Hunter  Brother  awoke. 
He  called  his  brother  to  bring  more  wood,  for  the  fire  was 
almost  out.  Getting  no  answer  he  went  to  look  at  the 
cooking  squirrels. 

Greatly  surprised  to  see  them  lying  there  all  uncovered, 
he,  too,  counted  them.  Discovering  one  gone,  he  thought 
his  brother  must  have  eaten  it  and  was  about  to  eat  one 
himself  when  he  saw  the  old  spider  stick  his  head  out  of 
the  hole.  Each  made  a  spring,  but  the  Hunter  Brother  was 
the  quicker  and  killed  the  wicked  spider  with  his  knife. 

Carefully  he  now  went  into  the  spider's  hole.  There, 
stretched  out  on  the  ground,  lay  Little  Brother  dead!  Tak- 
ing him  up  in  his  arms,  he  carried  him  outside.  Now  this 
Hunter  Brother  was  a  medicine-man  of  great  power,  so  he 
lay  down  with  Little  Brother  and  breathed  into  his  mouth 
and  in  a  few  minutes  he  came  back  to  life  and  was  all  right. ^ 

The  Hunter  Brother  was  very  happy  to  have  his  Little 
Brother  alive  again.  He  built  up  the  fire  and  while  they 
sat  eating  their  long-delayed  meal  Little  Brother  told  all 
that  had  happened  to  him. 

The  sun  was  quite  above  the  horizon  before  the  meal  was 
finished,  and  soon  Hunter  Brother  was  anxious  to  be  mov- 
ing on,  so  they  took  their  way  along  the  lake  shore.  On 
their  way  they  talked  and  laughed  one  with  another  and 
seemed  to  agree  very  well,  until  they  had  gone  around  the 

1  Susan  who  was  telling  this  story  offered  no  reason  why  he  had 
not  restored  Duck,  his  own  wife,  to  life. 


44      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

lake  and  reached  where  Tahoe  City  now  is.  Here  they 
quarreled  and  the  Hunter  Brother  left  Little  Brother  to 
return  and  go  up  the  Big  Mountain  —  Tallac  —  where  he 
had  heard  there  were  many  squirrels.  After  his  departure, 
Little  Brother  decided  to  follow  him  and  get  him  to  make 
friends  again.  So  he  trudged  along  the  lake  shore  until 
he  came  to  Emerald  Bay. 

There  lying  on  the  log  at  the  edge  of  the  lake,  lay  a 
water-baby.  It  was  asleep  with  its  head  resting  on  its 
arms  and  its  beautiful,  sunshine-golden-hair  was  spread  over 
it. 

"  Oh,"  said  Little  Brother,  "  I'll  get  that  beautiful  sun- 
shine-hair as  a  present  for  my  brother!  "  So  he  crept  very 
softly  down  on  the  log,  thinking  to  kill  the  water-baby  be- 
fore it  awoke.  But  he  was  not  successful  in  this,  for  the 
creature  opened  its  eyes  as  he  laid  his  hand  on  its  hair,  and 
a  furious  fight  ensued.  Sometimes  it  seemed  as  though 
Little  Brother  would  be  killed,  but  finally  he  was  able  to 
scalp  the  poor  water-baby  and  get  possession  of  the  beau- 
tiful sunshine-golden-hair.  Every  one  can  see  where  this 
fight  occurred.  The  red  hill  near  Emerald  Bay  stands  as 
a  memorial  of  the  struggle,  for  its  color  is  caused  by  the 
blood  of  the  slain  water-baby. 

Tucking  his  prize  in  his  hunting  shirt  and  hugging  it 
close.  Little  Brother  now  went  on,  murmuring  to  himself, 
"  Oh,  my  brother  like  this,  my  brother  like  this  beautiful 
golden-sunshine-hair!  " 

But  suddenly,  as  he  was  climbing  upward,  he  noticed  the 
water  lapping  at  his  heels,  and  when  he  turned  to  see  whence 
it  came,  he  found  that  the  big  lake  behind  him  was  rapidly 
rising,  and  even  as  he  stood  wondering,  it  arose  above  his 
ankles. 

Then  he  remembered  what  he  had  heard  of  revengeful 
water-babies,  but  frightened  though  he  was,  he  could  not 
bear  to  throw  away  his  prize.  However,  he  knew  he  must 
do  something,  so  he  plucked  out  a  few  hairs  from  the  scalp 
and  threw  them  into  the  ascending  waves.  For  a  minute 
the  water  ceased  to  rise  and  he  sped  onward,  but  before  long 
he  felt  the  water  at  his  heels  again,  and  knew  that  once 
more  he  must  gain  a  short  respite  by  throwing  out  a  few 
of  the  golden-sunshine-hairs. 


INDIAN  LEGENDS  OF  TAHOE  REGION      45 

'And  ever  and  again  he  had  to  do  this  until  at  last  he 
spied  his  brother  ahead  of  him.  "  Ah,  brother,"  he  cried, 
drawing  the  scalp  from  his  blouse,  "  see  what  a  beautiful 
present  I  have  for  you !  " 

But  when  his  brother  turned  toward  him  he  saw  only 
the  angry,  rising  waters,  and  rushing  forward  he  snatched 
the  beautiful  sunshine-golden-hair  and  cast  it  back  into  the 
waters,  crying,  "  How  you  dare  meddle  with  water-babies? 
Don't  you  know  water  surely  come  up  and  get  you  ?  " 

And  poor  Little  Brother  felt  very  sad ;  but  the  danger 
he  had  been  in  seemed  to  have  endeared  him  once  more  to 
Hunter  Brother  and  they  stood  arm-in-arm  and  watched 
the  waters  recede. 

But  there  were  hollows  in  the  land  and  when  the  waters 
went  back  they  held  the  water  and  so  were  formed  that 
chain  of  lakes  on  the  other  side  of  Tallac  and  Emerald  Bay, 
the  Velmas,  Kalmia,  Cascade,  and  others. 

The  rest  of  the  story  is  confused  and  full  of  repetitions. 
The  gist  of  it  is  that  Little  Brother  was  ever  getting  into 
trouble  from  which  Hunter  Brother  had  to  rescue  him, 
for  which  Little  Brother  was  most  grateful  and  would  go 
off  seeking  for  a  present  to  give  to  the  Big  Brother  who 
was  so  kind  to  him. 

Once  he  got  a  young  bear  cub.  He  thought  it  was  a  dog. 
He  petted  it  and  brought  it  to  his  brother  as  a  hunting-dog. 

Finally,  after  Hunter  Brother  had  made  a  first-class 
hunter  of  Little  Brother  so  that  he  could  use  his  bow  and 
arrows  with  great  success,  they  went  down  toward  the  Sac- 
ramento Valley  hunting  deer.  They  followed  a  fine  buck 
over  hill  and  dale  but  could  not  get  a  good  shot  at  him. 
At  last  worn  out  by  running  and  suffering  greatly,  the 
Little  Brother  lay  down  and  died.  When  his  brother  found 
him,  he  did  not  attempt  to  bring  him  to  life  again  but  buried 
him  under  a  pile  of  rocks  and  leaves. 

THE    "  WILD-GRUB  "    HOLE   AT   GARDNERVILLE 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  an  old  Indian  who  lived  over 
in  Hope  Valley  with  his  two  grand-daughters.  He  was  a 
mean  old  man.     He  made  the  girls  work  very  hard  all  day 


46      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

long.  They  had  to  gather  wild  grass  seeds  and  acorns  and 
grind  them  into  flour  all  the  time.  The  old  man  caught 
plenty  of  fish  and  frogs  which  he  took  off  for  his  own  eat- 
ing, but  he  gave  the  girls  none. 

One  day  he  came  in  with  a  woodchuck  skin  and  told  the 
girls  to  fill  it  with  wild  wheat  flour.  He  did  not  tell  them 
what  he  wanted  it  for.  When  the  skin  was  full  he  left 
the  campoodie  without  a  word  as  to  where  he  was  going. 
But  the  bag  leaked  and  a  little  stream  of  flour  trickled  out 
and  marked  his  path.  He  went  away  off  to  a  lake  where 
he  caught  plenty  of  fish  and  frogs  on  which  he  feasted  un- 
til he  could  eat  no  more.  Then  he  lay  down  by  his  fire 
and  was  soon  fast  asleep. 

Meanwhile  in  the  campoodie  the  two  girls  were  talking 
about  the  old  man's  meanness.  "  He  makes  us  work  so  hard 
and  we  never  have  any  fish  to  eat.  He  keeps  it  all  him- 
self," said  the  older  girl. 

"  I  wonder  where  he's  gone  now?  "  said  the  younger  one, 
going  to  the  door-way  and  looking  out.  Suddenly  she  no- 
ticed the  little  line  of  flour  trailing  off  through  the  woods. 
"  Ah,  now  I'll  find  him !  "  And  just  calling  to  her  sister  that 
she  would  be  back  soon,  she  darted  off. 

It  was  dark  when  she  came  back  weeping.  She  threw 
herself  on  the  ground  outside  the  campoodie  and  poured  out 
her  story.  She  had  found  the  old  man  lying  there  fast 
asleep,  gorged  with  fish.  The  remnants  of  his  feast  lay  all 
about  him.  She  had  not  dared  to  waken  him  or  speak 
to  him,  but  coming  home,  had  made  up  her  mind  to  run 
away  and  not  work  for  the  mean  old  man  any  more. 

To  this  the  sister  agreed,  and  at  daybreak  they  were  scur- 
rying off  through  the  forest. 

All  day  they  traveled  and  when  night  came  they  were 
still  in  the  wilds  far  from  any  Indian  camp. 

Worn  out,  they  lay  down  under  a  great  pine  and  looked 
up  at  the  stars. 

"  Oh,"  said  the  older  girl,  "  see  that  fine  Star-man  up 
there!     I'd  like  to  marry  him!" 

"  Oh,  no!  "  said  the  younger,  "  he  belongs  to  me.  I'd  like 
to  marry  him!  " 

They  lay  there  telling  what  each  would  do  could  she 
only  marry  the  Star-man,  until  they  fell  asleep. 


INDIAN  LEGENDS  OF  TAHOE  REGION      47 

When  they  awoke  in  the  morning,  lo,  they  found  them- 
selves up  in  the  sky,  and  the  elder  girl  had  a  baby  already 
—  a  star-baby!  At  first  the  girls  were  very  good  to  the 
star-baby  but  it  cried  a  great  deal.  One  day  the  younger 
girl  was  very  cross  and  put  it  outside  of  the  campoodie. 
The  poor  baby  cried  all  the  more  until  the  elder  sister  took 
pity  on  it,  but  when  she  had  fed  it  and  it  still  cried,  the 
younger  sister  became  very  angry  and  told  her  sister  to  put 
that  "  brat  "  outside.  The  sister  was  tired  too,  so  she  put  the 
poor  baby  outside. 

When  the  baby  could  not  make  them  come  to  him,  he 
got  up  and  went  to  find  his  grandfather,  the  Moon.  He 
told  him  how  mean  his  mother  and  aunt  were  to  him.  The 
old  Moon  was  very  angry.  He  took  the  star-baby  by  the 
hand  and  went  tramping  back  through  the  sky  to  find  the 
cruel  mother  and  her  sister. 

Now,  the  girls  had  been  getting  rather  tired  of  their 
sky-campoodie  and  they  longed  for  their  home  on  the  earth. 
They  used  to  go  to  a  hole  in  the  sky  and  look  down  on 
the  earth,  wishing  they  were  there  again.  Indeed,  at  the 
time  the  star-baby  went  off  to  find  his  grandfather,  the 
Moon,  they  were  at  the  hole  in  the  sky,  amusing  themselves 
by  looking  through  and  indulging  in  vain  regrets  that  they 
were  no  longer  there. 

"  Oh,  sister,"  suddenly  said  the  elder,  "  there  goes  our  old 
grandfather!  Poor  old  man!  I  wish  we  were  with  him! 
See,  he's  carr>'ing  big  bags  of  wild  wheat-flour  and  acorns!  " 

Just  then  the  old  Moon  came  tramping  up,  and  the  whole 
sky  trembled.  The  people  on  earth  said  it  was  thunder- 
ing. He  grabbed  the  two  girls  by  their  hair  and  shaking 
them  till  they  were  almost  dead,  he  hurled  them  down 
through  the  hole. 

Down,  down,  they  went,  straight  down  to  where  their 
old  grandfather  was  walking  along,  little  suspecting  what 
was  coming.  They  both  hit  him  and,  coming  as  they  did 
with  such  force,  they  made  a  deep  hole  in  the  earth  in 
which  they  were  almost  buried. 

That  hole  is  over  by  Gardnerville.  In  that  hole  Indians 
can  always  find  plenty  of  wild-grub  —  wild-wheat,  wild 
potato,  wild  acorn  —  plenty  there.     Snow  very  deep.     No 


48      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

difference.     Always  plenty  wild  grub  there.     I  see  that  hole. 
I  believe  that  story! 

THE   ORIGIN   OF  THE  DIFFERENT  INDIAN   TRIBES 

Long,  long  ago,  away  over  in  Paiuti-land  there  were  some 
young  boys  and  girls  playing.  They  played  all  sorts  of 
games,  but  they  liked  hand-ball  best.  And  as  they  played, 
they  sang  songs  of  gladness. 

There  was  one  old  woman,  their  grandmother,  who  would 
not  play  with  them.  She  had  a  little  baby,  her  youngest 
grandchild,  whom  she  was  trying  to  quiet,  but  the  little  one 
cried  and  cried  continuously. 

By-and-by  the  old  woman  heard  a  noise  outside.  She 
was  frightened  and  called  to  the  young  folks.  "  Some  one's 
coming!  You  better  stop!  Better  hide!  Maybe  Evil 
One,  devil,  coming!" 

But  the  young  folks  paid  no  attention  to  her  warning. 
They  kept  on  playing  harder  than  ever.  The  old  woman 
covered  the  baby  with  a  big  basket  and  hid  her  own  face 
in  her  shawl. 

Then  the  Evil  One  came  in.  All  the  young  folks  turned 
to  see  who  was  coming  in  and  as  soon  as  they  looked  upon 
his  face  they  fell  dead.  Only  the  old  woman  and  the 
baby  were  left;  for  the  Evil  One  did  not  see  them. 

When  he  was  gone,  the  old  woman  snatched  up  the  baby 
and  hurried  off  down  to  the  river.  As  she  was  hurrying 
along  she  met  an  old  man. 

"  Where  are  you  going?  "  said  he.  Then  the  old  woman 
saw  that  it  was  the  Evil  One  himself.  She  was  afraid  but  she 
did  not  want  him  to  know  it.  She  kept  the  baby  covered  in 
the  basket  and  answered,  "  I'm  going  to  the  river  to  get  wild 
potatoes!  " 

"  Where  are  all  the  girls?  "  asked  the  Evil  One. 

"  Oh,  they  are  all  over  behind  the  big  mountain,  playing 
ball!" 

The  Evil  One  went  off  to  find  them,  because  he  thought 
there  were  still  some  left,  and  the  old  woman  quickly  dug 
a  big  hole  and  hid  herself  and   the  baby  away  in   it. 

When  the  Evil  One  found  that  the  old  woman  had 
told   him   a  He,   he  was  very  angry.     He  came   back   and 


INDIAN  LEGENDS  OF  TAHOE  REGION      49 

hunted  all  day  long  till  sundown  for  her  that  he  might 
kill  her.  But  he  could  not  find  any  trace  of  her.  He  finally 
went  home  and  then  the  old  woman  took  the  baby  and  hid 
on  the  top  of  a  big  rock,  over  near  where  Sheridan  now  is. 

In  the  morning  the  Evil  One  came  back  to  hunt  further, 
but  without  success. 

"  I  guess  that  the  old  woman  is  dead,"  said  he,  "  or  maybe 
she's  gone  across  the  river."  But  the  Evil  One  loses  his 
power  if  he  touches  water,  so  he  dare  not  cross  the  river 
to  follow  her. 

The  old  woman  watched  him  from  the  top  of  the  rock. 
Many  times  she  feared  lest  he  should  find  her,  and  she 
covered   the   baby   more   closely. 

At  last  when  he  had  given  up  the  hunt,  she  saw  him  take 
a  great  basket  and  set  it  down  in  the  road.  Into  this  basket 
he  put  great  bunches  of  elderberry  roots,  and  as  he  put  each 
bunch  in,  he  gave  it  a  name  —  Washoe,  Digger,  Paiuti, 
and  so  on.  Then  he  put  the  lid  on  tightly  and  went  off 
through  the  forest. 

The  old  woman  w^atched  till  the  Evil  One  had  gone. 
Creeping  quietly  down,  she  came  with  the  child  —  she  was 
a  little  girl  now,  not  a  wee  baby  any  more  —  and  sat  down 
near  the  basket. 

Presently  there  was  a  murmuring  in  the  basket.  "  Oh, 
grandmother,  what's  that  noise?  "  said  the  little  girl. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  the  grandmother,  "  don't  you  touch 
the  basket !  " 

But  the  little  girl  kept  teasing,  "  Oh,  grandmother,  what's 
in  there?  " 

And  the  old  woman  would  say,  "  Don't  you  touch  it !  " 

The  old  woman  turned  her  back  just  one  minute  and  the 
little  girl  slipped  up  and  raised  the  lid  ever  so  little.  There 
was  a  great  whirring  noise;  the  lid  flew  off  and  out  came 
all  the  Indians.  Off  through  the  air  they  flew  —  Washoes 
to  Washoe  land ;  Diggers  to  Digger  land ;  Paiutis  to  Nevada 
—  each  Indian  to  his  own  home. 

The  story  given  above  is  the  one  told  by  Jackson,  but  his 
wife,  Susan,  tells  the  same  story  with  these  essential  differ- 
ences.    In  her  narrative  there  is  no  Evil  One.     The  old 


50      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

woman  scolded  the  young  people  for  playing,  but  they  are 
not  all  killed.  It  is  the  old  woman  herself  who  took  a 
Paiuti  water-bottle  and  after  filling  it  with  water,  took  wild 
seeds  and  placed  them  in  the  bottle,  naming  them  the  differ- 
ent Indian  tribes.  The  seeds  swelled  in  the  water  until  they 
were  as  big  as  eggs  and  out  of  these  the  Indians  hatched 
like  chickens,  and  began  to  fight.  It  is  the  noise  of  the  fight- 
ing that  the  baby  hears. 

As  in  Jackson's  story  the  baby  lets  them  out,  but  it  is 
the  wind  that  carries  them  ofiE  to  their  various  homes. 

HOW  THE   INDIANS   FIRST   GOT   FIRE 

The  Indians  were  having  a  "  big  time  "  in  a  great  log  cabin. 
All  the  birds  were  there  too,  for  in  those  days  the  Indians, 
birds,  and  animals  could  talk  to  each  other. 

They  were  dancing  all  around  the  room  and  all  were 
merry  as  could  be.  They  had  a  huge  wooden  drum  and, 
as  they  passed  this,  the  dancers  kicked  it  to  make  music. 

Now,  among  the  birds  who  were  there  was  a  big  blue- 
jay.  He  was  a  very  saucy  fellow,  just  full  of  mean  tricks. 
When  he  came  to  the  drum,  he  kicked  it  so  hard  that  he 
broke  it  all  to  pieces.  Of  course  this  caused  a  great  commo- 
tion. Every  one  was  so  provoked  by  his  rudeness  that  they 
threw  him  out  of  the  door. 

It  was  raining  hard  and  the  impudence  was  soon  washed 
out  of  Mr.  Blue-Jay.  He  begged  at  the  door  in  vain,  and 
at  last  he  huddled  up  on  the  branch  of  a  tree,  thinking 
himself  greatly  abused. 

As  he  sat  there,  suddenly,  far  off,  he  saw  a  strange  light. 
Now  the  Blue-Jay  has  an  infinite  amount  of  curiosity,  so 
away  he  flew  to  investigate,  quite  forgetting  his  troubles. 

It  was  fire  which  the  Indian  god  had  brought  down  to 
earth.  The  Jay  got  a  piece  and  soon  came  flying  back  to 
the  great  cabin  where  the  dance  was  still  going  on. 

When  he  called  now  at  the  door,  saying  that  he  had 
something  wonderful  to  show  them,  they  knew  that  he  was 
telling  the  truth.  They  let  him  come  in,  crowding  about 
him  to  see  this  wonderful  thing.     They  did  not  know  what 


INDIAN  LEGENDS  OF  TAHOE  REGION      51 

to  make  of  this  strange  new  thing.  Lest  anything  should 
happen  to  it,  they  dug  a  hole  and  buried  the  fire  most  care- 
fully. 

Tired  out  with  the  night's  dancing  the  Indians  all  went 
off  to  rest,  leaving  the  birds  to  watch  the  precious  fire.  But 
the  birds  were  tired  too,  and  it  was  not  long  before  they 
were  fast  asleep.  All  except  the  owl.  He  was  wide  awake 
and  he,  being  very  wise,  knew  that  the  fire  must  be  put  in  a 
safer  place.  He  went  out  and  calling  the  yellow  snake, 
the  rat,  and  the  little  "  hummer  "  bird,  he  explained  what 
he  wanted  them  to  do.  The  snake  was  to  worm  his  way  in 
under  the  logs  and  wait  there  till  the  hummer-bird  brought 
him  the  fire.  The  rat  was  to  go  in  and  chew  all  the  birds' 
wings  so  that  they  should  not  be  able  to  catch  the  little 
hummer.  They  were  all  so  fast  asleep  that  the  rat  was  able 
to  do  this  very  easily. 

All  went  just  as  they  planned.  The  snake  took  the  fire 
and  hid  a  little  spark  of  it  in  every  buckeye  tree.  And  there 
the  Indians  found  it  when  they  needed  it.  For  rubbing  a 
piece  of  cedar  and  buckeye  together,  they  very  quickly  make 
the  spark,   and   produce  fire. 

A  LEGEND  OF  LAKE  TAHOE 

The  following  legend  was  published  some  years  ago  in 
Sunset  Magazine.  It  was  written  by  Miss  Nonette  V.  Mc- 
Glashan,  who  heard  it  from  a  Washoe  squaw.  The  story 
was  told  with  strange  gestures  and  weird  pathos: 

The  ong  was  a  big  bird,  bigger  than  the  houses  of  the 
white  man.  Its  body  was  like  the  eagle's,  and  its  wings  were 
longer  than  the  tallest  pines.  Its  face  was  that  of  an  Indian, 
but  covered  with  hard  scales,  and  its  feet  were  webbed.  Its 
nest  was  deep  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  Lake,  out  in  the 
center,  and  out  of  the  nest  rushed  all  the  waters  which  fill 
the  Lake.  There  are  no  rivers  to  feed  the  Lake,  only  the 
waters  from  the  ong's  nest.  All  the  waters  flow  back  near 
the  bottom,  in  great  under-currents,  and  after  passing 
through  the  meshes  of  the  nest  are  sent  forth  again.  Every 
plant  and  bird  and  animal  that  gets  into  these  under-currents, 
and  sometimes  the  great  trout  that  are  swept  into  the  net- 


52      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

like  nest  are  there  held  fast  to  furnish   food  for  the  ong. 

He  ate  everything,  he  liked  everything,  but  best  of  all  he 
liked  the  taste  of  human  flesh.  No  one  ever  heard  or  sav^^ 
anything  of  such  poor  mortals  as  were  drowned  in  these 
waters,  for  their  bodies  were  carried  to  the  ong's  nest  and 
no  morsel  ever  escaped  him.  Sometimes  he  would  fly  about 
the  shores  in  quest  of  some  child  or  woman  or  hunter,  yet 
he  was  a  great  coward  and  was  never  known  to  attack  any 
one  in  camp,  or  when  two  or  more  were  together.  No 
arrow  could  pierce  his  feathers,  nor  could  the  strongest 
spear  do  more  than  glance  from  the  scales  on  his  face  and 
legs,  yet  his  coward's  heart  made  him  afraid  for  his  toes  had 
no  claws,  and  his  mouth  no  beak. 

Late  one  fall,  the  Washoes  were  making  their  final  hunt 
before  going  to  the  valleys  and  leaving  the  Lake  locked  in  its 
winter  snows.  The  chief's  daughter  was  sixteen  years  old, 
and  before  leaving  the  Lake  he  must  select  the  greatest  hero 
in  the  tribe  for  her  husband,  for  such  had  been  the  custom 
of  the  Washoe  chiefs  ever  since  the  tribe  came  out  of  the 
Northland.  Fairer  than  ever  maiden  had  been  was  this 
daughter,  and  every  unmarried  brave  and  warrior  in  the  tribe 
wished  that  he  had  performed  deeds  of  greater  prowess,  that 
he  might  be  certain  of  winning  the  prize.  That  last  night 
at  the  Lake,  around  the  big  council  fire,  each  was  to  recount 
to  the  chief  the  noblest  achievement  of  his  life,  and  when 
all  were  heard  the  chief  would  choose,  and  the  women  join 
the  circle  and  the  wedding  take  place.  For  many  years 
the  warriors  had  looked  forward  to  this  event,  and  the  tribe 
had  become  famed  because  of  acts  of  reckless  daring  per- 
formed by  those  who  hoped  to  wed  the  chief's  daughter. 

It  was  the  morning  of  the  final  day  and  much  game  and 
great  stores  of  dried  trout  were  packed  ready  for  the  journey. 
All  were  preparing  for  the  wedding  festivities,  and  the  fact 
that  no  one  knew  who  would  be  the  bridegroom,  among  all 
that  band  of  warriors,  lent  intensest  excitement  to  the  event. 
All  were  joyous  and  happy  except  the  maiden  and  the  hand- 
some young  brave  to  whom  she  had  given  her  heart.  In  spite 
of  custom  or  tradition  her  love  had  long  since  gone  out  to 
one  whose  feet  had  been  too  young  to  press  the  war-path 
when  last  the  tribe  gave  battle  to  their  hereditary  foes,  the 


INDIAN  LEGENDS  OF  TAHOE  REGION      53 

Paiutis.  He  never  had  done  deed  of  valor,  nor  could  he 
even  claim  the  right  to  sit  with  the  warriors  around  the 
council  fire.  All  day  long  he  had  been  sitting  alone  on  the 
jutting  cliffs  which  overhang  the  water,  far  away  from  the 
laughter  and  shouts  of  the  camp,  eagerly,  prayerfully  watch- 
ing the  great  Lake.  Surely  the  Great  Spirit  would  hear  his 
prayer,  yet  he  had  been  here  for  days  and  weeks  in  unavailing 
prayer  and  waiting. 

The  afternoon  was  well-nigh  spent  and  the  heart  of  the 
young  brave  had  grown  cold  as  stone.  In  his  bitter  despair 
he  sprang  to  his  feet  to  defy  the  Great  Spirit  in  whom  he 
had  trusted,  but  ere  he  could  utter  the  words  his  very  soul 
stood  still  for  joy.  Slowly  rising  from  the  center  of  the 
Lake,  he  saw  the  ong.  Circling  high  in  the  heavens,  the 
monster  swept  now  here,  now  there,  in  search  of  prey. 
The  young  brave  stood  erect  and  waited.  When  the  ong 
was  nearest  he  moved  about  slightly  to  attract  its  notice. 
He  had  not  long  to  wait.  With  a  mighty  swoop,  the  bird 
dashed  to  earth,  and  as  it  arose,  the  young  brave  was  seen 
to  be  clasped  fast  in  its  talons.  A  great  cry  of  horror  arose 
from  the  camp,  but  it  was  the  sweetest  note  the  young  brave 
had  ever  heard.  The  bird  flew  straight  up  into  the  sky 
until  Lake  and  forest  and  mountains  seemed  small  and  dim. 
When  it  reached  a  great  height  it  would  drop  its  prey  into 
the  Lake  and  let  the  current  draw  it  to  its  nest.  Such  was 
its  custom,  and  for  this  the  brave  had  prepared  by  unwinding 
from  his  waist  a  long  buckskin  cord  and  tying  himself  firmly 
to  the  ong's  leg.  The  clumsy  feet  could  not  grasp  him  so 
tightly  as  to  prevent  his  movements.  At  last  the  great  feet 
opened  wide,  but  the  Indian  did  not  fall.  In  a  mighty 
rage,  the  ong  tried  in  vain  to  grasp  him  in  his  teeth,  but  the 
strong  web  between  the  bird's  toes  sheltered  him.  Again 
and  again  the  bird  tried  to  use  his  horrid  teeth,  and  each 
time  his  huge  body  would  fall  through  the  air  in  such 
tu'istings  and  contortions  that  those  who  watched  below 
stared  in  bewilderment.  But  what  the  watchers  could  not 
see  was  that  every  time  the  huge  mouth  opened  to  snap 
him,  the  young  brave  hurled  a  handful  of  poisoned  arrow- 
heads into  the  mouth  and  down  the  big  throat,  their  sharp 
points  cutting  deep   into  the  unprotected   flesh.     The  bird 


I 


54      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

tried  to  dislodge  him  by  rubbing  his  feet  together,  but  the 
thong  held  firm.  Now  it  plunged  headlong  into  the  Lake, 
but  its  feet  were  so  tied  that  it  could  not  swim,  and  though 
it  lashed  the  waters  into  foam  with  its  great  wings,  and 
though  the  man  was  nearly  drowned  and  wholly  exhausted, 
the  poison  caused  the  frightened  bird  such  agony  that  it 
suddenly  arose  and  tried  to  escape  by  flying  toward  the 
center  of  the  Lake.  The  contest  had  lasted  long  and  the 
darkness  crept  over  the  Lake,  and  into  the  darkness  the  bird 
vanished. 

The  women  had  been  long  in  their  huts  ere  the  council 
fire  was  kindled  and  the  warriors  gravely  seated  themselves 
in  its  circle.  No  such  trifling  event  as  the  loss  of  a  young 
brave  could  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  so  important  an 
event,  and  from  most  of  their  minds  he  had  vanished.  It  was 
not  so  very  unusual  for  the  ong  to  claim  a  victim,  and, 
besides,  the  youth  had  been  warned  by  his  elders  that 
he  should  not  go  hunting  alone  as  had  been  his  habit  of  late. 
But  while  the  warriors  were  working  themselves  up  into 
a  fine  frenzy  of  eloquence  in  trying  to  remind  the  old  chief 
of  their  bygone  deeds  of  daring,  an  Indian  maiden  was  pad- 
dling a  canoe  swiftly  and  silently  toward  the  middle  of  the 
Lake.  Nona,  the  chief's  daughter  understood  no  more  than 
the  rest  why  her  lover  had  not  been  dropped  into  the  Lake, 
nor  why  the  ong  had  acted  so  queerly,  but  she  knew  that 
she  could  die  with  her  lover.  She  took  her  own  frail  canoe 
because  it  was  so  light  and  easy  to  row,  though  it  was  made 
for  her  when  a  girl,  and  would  scarcely  support  her  weight 
now.  It  mattered  nothing  to  her  if  the  water  splashed  over 
the  sides;  it  mattered  nothing  how  she  reached  her  lover. 
She  kept  saying  his  name  over  softly  to  herself,  "Tahoe! 
My  darling  Tahoe!" 

When  the  council  was  finished,  the  women  went  to  her 
hut  to  bid  her  come  and  hear  the  decision  her  father  was 
about  to  render.  The  consternation  caused  by  her  disappear- 
ance lasted  until  the  rosy  dawn  tinged  the  Washoe  peaks 
and  disclosed  to  the  astounded  tribe  the  body  of  the  ong 
floating  on  the  waters  above  its  nest,  and  beside  it  an  empty 
canoe.  In  the  foreground,  and  gently  approaching  the  shore 
was  the  strangest  craft  that  ever  floated  on  water!     It  was 


INDIAN  LEGENDS  OF  TAHOE  REGION      55 

one  of  the  great  ong's  wings,  and  the  sail  was  the  tip  of  the 
other  wing!  Standing  upon  it,  clasped  in  each  other's  arms, 
were  the  young  brave,  Tahoe,  and  the  daughter  of  the  chief. 
In  the  shouts  of  the  tribe,  shouts  in  which  warriors  and 
women  and  children  mingled  their  voices  with  that  of  the 
chief,  Tahoe  was  proclaimed  the  hero  of  heroes!  The  de- 
cision was  rendered,  but  the  ong's  nest  remains,  and  the 
drowned  never  rise  in  Lake  Tahoe. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   VARIOUS    NAMES   OF    LAKE   TAHOE 

WE  have  already  seen  that  Fremont,  the  discoverer 
of  Lake  Tahoe,  first  called  it  Lake  Bonpland, 
after  Humboldt's  scientific  co-traveler.  That 
name,  however,  never  came  in  general  use.  When  the  great 
westward  emigration  began  it  seemed  naturally  to  be  called 
by  its  Indian  name,  Tahoe. 

In  Innocents  Abroad  Mark  Twain  thus  petulantly  and 
humorously  expresses  his  dislike  of  the  name,  Tahoe,  and 
sarcastically  defines  its  meaning. 

"  Sorrow  and  misfortune  overtake  the  legislature  that  still  from 
year  to  year  permits  Tahoe  to  retain  its  unmusical  cognomen ! 
Tahoe!  It  suggests  no  crystal  waters,  no  picturesque  shores,  no 
sublimity.  Tahoe  for  a  sea  in  the  clouds;  a  sea  that  has  character, 
and  asserts  it  in  solemn  calms,  at  times,  at  times  in  savage  storms; 
a  sea,  whose  royal  seclusion  is  guarded  by  a  cordon  of  sentinel 
peaks  that  lift  their  frosty  fronts  nine  thousand  feet  above  the 
level  world;  a  sea  whose  every  aspect  is  impressive,  whose  belong- 
ings are  all  beautiful,  whose  lonely  majesty  types  the  Deity! 

"  Tahoe  means  grasshoppers.  It  means  grasshopper  soup.  It  is 
Indian,  and  suggestive  of  Indians.  They  say  it  is  Pi-ute  —  pos- 
sibly it  is  Digger.  I  am  satisfied  it  was  named  by  the  Diggers  — 
those  degraded  savages  who  roast  their  dead  relatives,  then  mix 
the  human  grease  and  ashes  of  bones  with  tar,  and  '  gaum '  it 
thick  all  over  their  heads  and  foreheads  and  ears,  and  go  cater- 
wauling about  the  hills  and  call  it  mourning.  These  are  the  gentry 
that  named  the  Lake. 

"People  say  that  Tahoe  means  'Silver  Lake' — 'Limpid  Water'. 
— '  Falling  Leaf.'  Bosh !  It  means  grasshopper  soup,  the  favorite 
dish  of  the  Digger  tribe  —  and  of  the  Pi-utes  as  well.  It  isn't 
worth  while,  in  these  practical  times,  for  people  to  talk  about  In- 
dian poetry  —  there  never  was  any  in  them  —  except  in  the  Feni- 
more  Cooper  Indians.  But  they  are  an  extinct  tribe  that  never 
existed.  I  know  the  Noble  Red  Man.  I  have  camped  with  the 
Indians;  I  have  been  on  the  warpath  with  them,  taken  part  in  the 
chase   with   them  —  for   grasshoppers;    helped   them   steal   cattle;    I 

56 


THE  VARIOUS  NAMES  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      57 

have  roamed  with  them,  scalped  them,  had  them  for  breakfast.    I 
would  gladly  eat  the  whole  race  if  I  had  a  chance. 
"  But  I  am  growing  unreliable." 

With  all  due  deference  to  the  wisdom  —  as  well  as  the 
humor  —  of  Mark  Twain  as  applied  to  Lake  Tahoe,  I 
emphatically  disagree  with  him  as  to  the  Indians  of  the 
Tahoe  region,  and  also  as  to  the  name  of  the  Lake.  Tahoe 
is  quite  as  good-sounding  a  name  as  Como,  Lucerne,  Katrine 
or  Lomond.  A  name,  so  long  as  it  is  euphonious,  is  pleasing 
or  not,  more  because  of  its  associations  than  anything  else. 
The  genuine  Indian,  as  he  was  prior  to  the  coming  of  the 
white  man,  was  uncorrupted,  uncivilized,  unvitiated,  unde- 
moralized,  undiseased  in  body,  mind  and  soul,  a  nature- 
observer,  nature-lover  and  nature-worshiper.  He  was  full  of 
poetic  conceptions  and  fired  with  a  vivid  imagination  that  cre- 
ated stories  to  account  for  the  existence  of  unusual,  peculiar 
or  exceptional  natural  objects,  that,  in  brilliancy  of  concep- 
tion, daring  invention,  striking  ingenuity  and  vigor  of  detail 
surpass,  or  at  least  equal,  the  best  imaginative  work  of  Kip- 
ling or  Mark  Twain  himself.  It  seems  to  me  that  his  — 
the  Indian's  —  name  for  this  Lake  —  Tahoe  —  is  both  eupho- 
nious and  full  of  poetic  and  scientific  suggestion.  It  is 
poetic  in  that  it  expresses  in  a  word  the  unequaled  height 
and  purity  of  so  large  a  body  of  water,  and  scientific  in  that 
it  is  truthful  and  accurate. 

But  Fremont,  the  discoverer,  evidently  did  not  ask  or  seek 
to  know  its  Indian  name.  As  stated  elsewhere  he  erroneously 
conceived  it  to  be  the  headquarters  of  one  of  the  forks  of  the 
American  river,  flowing  into  the  Sacramento,  and  he  so  de- 
picts it  on  his  map,  giving  to  it  the  two  names  "  Mountain 
Lake  "  or  "  Lake  Bonpknd."  But  neither  of  these  names 
was  acceptable  and  they  practically  dropped  out  of  sight. 

When  the  first  actual  determination  of  Tahoe's  outlet 
through  the  Truckee  River  was  made  is  not  definitely  known, 


58      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

but  its  approximate  location  was  well  enough  established  in 
1853  to  enable  the  official  map-maker  of  the  new  State  of 
California  to  depict  it  with  reasonable  accuracy,  and,  for 
some  reason,  to  name  it  Lake  Bigler,  after  John  Bigler,  the 
third  Governor  of  California. 

Citizens  are  still  living  both  in  Nevada  and  California  who 
well  remember  when  the  Lake  held  this  name,  and  the  ma- 
jority of  people  undoubtedly  used  it  until  1 862.  Officially, 
also,  it  was  known  as  Lake  Bigler  in  1862,  for  in  the  Nevada 
Statutes  there  is  recorded  an  Act  approved  December  19, 
1862,  authorizing  certain  parties  to  construct  a  railroad  "to 
be  known  as  the  Lake  Bigler  and  Virginia  Railroad  Co.,  to 
commence  at  a  point  on  the  Kingsbury-McDonald  road 
known  as  the  Kingsbury  and  McDonald  Toll  House,  thence 
along  the  southern  and  eastern  shores  of  Lake  Bigler,  and  in 
most  direct  practical  route,  to  the  divide  between  Virginia 
City  and  Washoe  Valley  on  east  side  Washoe  Lake,  over  and 
through  the  most  practical  pass  to  Virginia  City,"  and  a 
further  right  to  construct  branch  road  from  Virginia  to 
Carson  City,  Nevada. 

In  1 86 1,  however,  while  Downey  was  Governor  of  Cali- 
fornia (he  having  been  elected  Lieut.  Governor,  and  taking 
the  office  on  the  resignation  of  Governor  Latham  in  January 
i860),  an  attempt  was  made  to  change  the  name  from  Bigler 
to  the  fanciful  one  of  Tula  Tulia,  but  fortunately  it  failed 
and  the  old  name  remained  in  general  use. 

But  in  1862  another  effort  was  made  in  an  entirely  differ- 
ent direction  and  this  time  with  success.  It  was  brought 
about  through  the  work  of  William  Henry  Knight,  still  liv- 
ing in  Los  Angeles,  who  has  kindly  furnished  the  following 
account : 

In  the  year  1859  I  was  the  youngest  member  of  an 
overland  company  which  crossed  the  plains  and  mountains 
from  St.  Joseph,   Mo.,  to  California.     Our  train  was  in 


THE  VARIOUS  NAMES  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      59 

three  divisions  and  consisted  of  about  twenty  persons,  and 
forty   horses   and    mules. 

One  morning  in  the  middle  of  August  we  left  our  camp 
at  the  eastern  base  of  the  double  summit  of  the  Sierra 
Nevadas  and  began  our  ascent.  Mounted  on  my  faithful 
steed,  Old  Pete,  I  pushed  on  in  advance  of  the  caravan,  in 
order  to  get  the  first  view  of  the  already  famous  mountain 
lake,  then  known  as  Lake  Bigler.  The  road  wound  through 
the  defile  and  around  the  southern  border  of  the  Lake  on  the 
margin  of  which  we  camped  for  two  days. 

As  I  approached  the  summit  I  turned  from  the  main  road 
and  followed  a  trail  to  the  right  which  led  to  the  top  of  a 
bare  rock  overlooking  the  valley  beyond  and  furnishing  an 
unobstructed  view. 

Thus  my  first  view  of  that  beautiful  sheet  of  water  was 
from  a  projecting  clif¥  looo  feet  above  its  surface,  and  it 
embraced  not  only  the  entire  outline  of  the  Lake  with  its 
charming  bays  and  rocky  headlands  but  also  the  magnificent 
forests  of  giant  pines  and  firs  in  which  it  was  embosomed, 
and  the  dozen  or  more  lofty  mountain  peaks  thrusting  their 
white  summits  into  the  sky  at  altitudes  varying  from  8000 
to  11,000  feet  above  sea  level. 

The  view  was,  indeed,  the  most  wonderful  combination 
of  towering  mountains,  widespreading  valley,  gleaming  lakes, 
umbrageous  forests,  rugged  buttresses  of  granite,  flashing 
streams,  tumbling  waterfalls,  and  overarching  sky  of  deepest 
cerulean  hue  —  all  blended  into  one  perfect  mosaic  of  the 
beautiful,  the  picturesque,  and  the  majestic,  that  mortal  eye 
ever  rested  upon. 

No  imagination  can  conceive  the  beauty,  sublimity  and  in- 
spiration of  that  scene,  especially  to  one  who  had  for  weary 
months  been  traversing  dusty,  treeless  and  barren  plains. 
The  contrast  was  overwhelming.  Tears  filled  my  eyes  as 
I  gazed  upon  the  fairy  scene.  I  recall  the  entrancing  picture 
to-day,  in  all  its  splendid  detail,  so  vividly  was  it  photo- 
graphed upon  my  brain. 

Since  that  hour  I  have  crossed  the  continent  ten  times, 
over  various  railway  routes,  visited  most  of  the  States  of  the 
Union,  and  seven  foreign  countries,  heard  the  testimony  of 
others  whose  travels  have  been  world-wide,  and  I  doubt  if 


6o      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

another  scene  of  equal  enchantment  exists  on  the  face  of 
the  globe. 

In  1 86 1,  two  years  after  my  visit  to  Tahoe,  I  gathered  the 
data  for  compiling  the  first  general  map  of  the  Pacific 
States,  which  embraced  the  region  from  British  Columbia 
to  Mexico,  and  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  coast. 
It  was  ready  for  the  engraver  in  February,  1862.  I  had 
instructed  the  draughtsman,  V.  Wackenreuder,  afterward 
connected  with  the  State  Geological  Survey,  to  omit  the  name 
of  Lake  Bigler,  which  was  on  contemporary  maps. 

I  invited  John  S.  Hittell,  editor  of  the  Alta  California, 
a  leading  San  Francisco  daily,  and  Dr.  Henry  DeGroot, 
writer  on  the  Evening  Bulletin  and  correspondent  of  the 
able  Sacramento  Union,  to  come  round  to  Bancroft's  publish- 
ing house  and  inspect  the  map. 

Dr.  DeGroot  had  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  the  Corn- 
stock  silver  mines  in  the  Washoe  district  of  Western  Nevada. 
He  suddenly  turned  to  me  and  said :  "  Why,  Knight,  you 
have  left  off  the  name  of  Lake  Bigler."  I  remarked  that 
many  people  had  expressed  dissatisfaction  with  that  name, 
bestowed  in  honor  of  a  Governor  of  California  who  had 
not  distinguished  himself  by  any  signal  achievement,  and  I 
thought  that  now  would  be  a  good  time  to  select  an  ap- 
propriate name  and  fix  it  forever  on  that  beautiful  sheet  of 
water. 

The  suggestion  met  with  favor,  and  several  names  were 
proposed  —  Washington,  Lincoln,  then  war  President,  Fre- 
mont, an  early  explorer,  and  other  historic  names.  I  asked 
Dr.  DeGroot  if  he  knew  what  the  native  Indians  called  the 
Lake. 

He  drew  a  memorandum  from  his  pocket  and  read  over 
a  list  of  Indian  names  local  to  that  region,  and  exclaimed; 
*'  Here  it  is;  they  call  it  'Tahoe,'  meaning  'big  water,'  or 
'  high  water,'  or  '  water  in  a  high  place.'  The  word  rhymes 
with  Washoe. 

I  did  not  quite  like  the  name  at  first  mention,  but  its 
significance  was  so  striking  that  I  asked  if  they  —  Hittell 
and  DeGroot  —  would  favor  its  adoption  and  back  it  up  with 
the  support  of  their  newspapers,  and  they  agreed  to  do  so. 

They  advocated  the  adoption  of  the  new  name  in  their 


THE  VARIOUS  NAMES  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      6i 

respective  journals,  the  country  papers  almost  unanimously 
fell  into  line,  I  inserted  it  on  the  map  which  bore  my  name 
—  William  Henry  Knight  —  as  compiler,  and  which  was 
published  by  the  Bancroft  house  in  1862. 

I  immediately  wrote  to  the  Land  Office  at  Washington, 
reported  what  I  had  done,  and  the  sentiment  that  prevailed 
in  California,  and  requested  the  Federal  official  to  substitute 
the  name  of  Tahoe  for  Bigler  on  the  next  annual  map  to  be 
issued  by  his  office,  and  in  all  the  printed  matter  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Interior  thereafter.     This  was  done. 

But  a  curious  thing  happened.  Nevada  was  under  a 
territorial  government  appointed  by  the  Democratic  admin- 
istration of  President  Buchanan.  The  Territorial  Legisla- 
ture was  in  session  when  the  subject  was  agitated  by  the 
California  newspapers.  A  young  statesman  of  that  body, 
thirsting  for  fame,  rose  to  his  feet  and  in  vociferous  tones 
and  with  frenzied  gestures,  denounced  this  high-handed  ac- 
tion of  California  in  changing  the  name  of  that  Lake 
without  consulting  the  sister  commonwealth  of  Nevada, 
as,  according  to  the  map,  half  of  that  noble  sheet  of  water 
was  in  Nevada,  and  such  action  would  require  joint  juris- 
diction. But  his  impassioned  words  were  wasted  on  the 
desert  air  of  the  Sagebrush  State.  He  could  not  muster 
enough  votes  to  enact  his  indignation  into  a  law,  and  the  calm 
surface  of  Lake  Tahoe  was  unruffled  by  the  tempestuous 
commotion  raging  in  legislative  halls  at  Carson  City. 

It  was  thus  that  the  beautiful,  euphonious,  and  significant 
name  of  "  Tahoe  "  was  first  placed  on  my  own  map,  and 
subsequently  appeared  on  all  other  maps  of  the  State,  because 
it  was  universally  accepted  as  a  fitting  substitute  for  the 
former  name  of  "  Bigler."  A  traveled  writer  refers  to  the 
Lake  and  the  name  selected  in  these  terms: 

"  Thus  it  was  that  we  went  to  Lake  Tahoe,  the  beautiful 
*  Big  Water '  of  the  Washoe  Indians  —  Tahoe  with  the 
indigo  shade  of  its  waters  emphasized  by  its  snow-capped  set- 
ting. The  very  first  glance  lifts  one's  soul  above  the  petty 
cares  of  the  lower  valleys,  and  one  feels  the  significance  of 
the  Indian  title  — '  Big  Water  ' —  not  referring  to  size  alone, 
but  to  the  greatness  of  influence,  just  as  the  all-pervading 
Power  is  the  '  Big  Spirit.'  " 


62      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

One  would  naturally  think  that  there  had  been  changes 
enough.  But  no!  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Federal 
government  had  accepted  the  change  to  Tahoe,  and  that  the 
popular  usage  had  signified  the  general  approval  of  the  name, 
the  Hon.  W.  A.  King,  of  Nevada  County,  during  the  Gov- 
ernorship of  Haight,  in  California,  introduced  into  the  assem- 
bly a  bill  declaring  that  Lake  Bigler  should  be  "  the  official 
name  of  the  said  lake  and  the  only  name  to  be  regarded  as 
legal  in  official  documents,  deeds,  conveyances,  leases  and 
other  instruments  of  writing  to  be  placed  on  state  or  county 
records,  or  used  in  reports  made  by  state,  county  or  munic- 
ipal officers." 

Historian  Hittell  thus  comments  on  this:  "The  bill, 
which  appears  to  have  been  well  modulated  to  the  taste  and 
feelings  of  the  legislature,  went  through  with  great  success. 
It  passed  the  Assembly  on  February  i,  the  Senate  on  February 
7 ;  and  on  February  lo  it  was  approved  by  the  Governor.  It 
remains  a  monument,  if  not  to  Bigler,  at  least  to  the  legis- 
lature that  passed  it ;  while  the  name  of  the  Lake  will  doubt- 
less continue  to  be  Tahoe  and  its  sometime  former  designation 
of  Bigler  be  forgotten." 

Now  if  Mark  Twain  really  objected  to  the  name  Tahoe 
why  did  he  not  join  the  Biglerites  and  insist  upon  the  preser- 
vation of  that  name? 

On  the  Centennial  Map  of  1876  it  was  named  "  Lake  Big- 
ler or  Lake  Tahoe,"  showing  that  some  one  evidently  was 
aware  that,  officially,  it  was  still  Lake  Bigler. 

And  so,  in  fact,  it  is  to  this  date,  as  far  as  official  action 
can  make  it  so,  and  it  is  interesting  to  conjecture  what  the 
results  might  be  were  some  malicious  person,  or  some  "  legal- 
minded  stickler  for  rigid  adherence  to  the  law,"  to  bring  suit 
against  those  whose  deeds,  titles,  leases,  or  other  documents 
declare  it  to  be  Lake  Tahoe. 


CHAPTER  VI 

JOHN  LE  CONTE's  PHYSICAL  STUDIES  OF  LAKE  TAHOE 

IN  certain  numbers  (November  and  December  1883  and 
January  1884)  of  the  Overland  Monthly,  Professor 
John  Le  Conte,  of  the  State  University,  Berkeley, 
California,  presented  the  results  of  his  physical  studies  of 
Lake  Tahoe  in  three  elaborate  chapters.  From  these  the 
following  quotations  of  general  interest  are  taken: 

Hundreds  of  Alpine  lakes  of  various  sizes,  w^ith  their 
clear,  deep,  cold,  emerald  or  azure  vi^aters,  are  embosomed 
among  the  crags  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains.  The 
most  extensive,  as  wtW  as  the  most  celebrated,  of  these 
bodies  of  fresh  water  is  Lake  Tahoe. 

This  Lake,  .  .  .  occupies  an  elevated  valley  at  a  point 
where  the  Sierra  Nevada  divides  into  two  ranges.  It  is, 
as  it  were,  ingulfed  between  two  lofty  and  nearly  parallel 
ridges,  one  lying  to  the  east  and  the  other  to  the  west.  As 
the  crest  of  the  principal  range  of  the  Sierra  runs  near  the 
western  margin  of  this  Lake,  this  valley  is  thrown  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  this  great  mountain  system. 

The  boundary  line  between  the  States  of  California  and 
Nevada  makes  an  angle  of  about  131  degrees  in  this  Lake, 
near  its  southern  extremity,  precisely  at  the  intersection  of 
the  39th  parallel  of  north  latitude  with  the  120th  meridian 
west  from  Greenwich.  Inasmuch  as,  north  of  this  angle,  this 
boundary  line  follows  the  1 20th  meridian,  which  traverses 
the  Lake  longitudinally  from  two  to  four  miles  from  its 
eastern  shore-line,  it  follows  that  more  than  two-thirds  of  its 
area  falls  within  the  jurisdiction  of  California,  the  remain- 
ing third  being  within  the  boundary  of  Nevada.  It  is  only 
within  a  comparatively  recent  period  that  the  geographical 
coordinates  of  this  Lake  have  been  accurately  determined. 

Its  greatest  dimension  deviates  but  slightly  from  a  medium 

63 


64      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

line.  Its  maximum  length  is  about  21.6  miles,  and  its 
greatest  width  is  about  I2  miles.  In  consequence  of  the 
irregularity  of  its  outline,  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  its  exact 
area;  but  it  cannot  deviate  much  from  192  to  195  square 
miles. 

The  railroad  surveys  indicate  that  the  elevation  of  the 
surface  of  its  waters  above  the  level  of  the  ocean  is  about 
6247  feet. 

Its  drainage  basin,  including  in  this  its  own  area,  is 
estimated  to  be  about  five  hundred  square  miles.  Probably 
more  than  a  hundred  affluents  of  various  capacities,  deriving 
their  waters  from  the  amphitheater  of  snow-clad  mountains 
which  rise  on  all  sides  from  3000  to  4000  feet  above  its 
surface,  contribute  their  quota  to  supply  this  Lake.  The 
largest  of  these  affluents  is  the  Upper  Truckee  River,  which 
falls  into  its  southern  extremity. 

The  only  outlet  to  the  Lake  is  the  Truckee  River,  which 
carries  the  surplus  waters  from  a  point  on  its  northwestern 
shore  out  through  a  magnificent  mountain  gorge,  thence 
northeast,  through  the  arid  plains  of  Nevada,  into  Pyramid 
Lake.  This  river  in  its  tortuous  course  runs  a  distance  of 
over  one  hundred  miles,  and  for  about  seventy  miles  (from 
Truckee  to  Wadsworth)  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  fol- 
lows its  windings.  According  to  the  railroad  surveys,  this 
river  makes  the  following  descent:  p  11 

Distance  Fall  per  Mile 

Lake  Tahoe  to  Truckee     15  Miles  401   Ft.  28.64  Ft. 

Truckee  to   Boca 8       "  313     "  39.12    " 

Boca  to  State  Line   ....      11       "  395     "  35.91    " 

State  Line  to  Verdi  ....        5       "  211      "  42.21     " 

Verdi  to  Reno   11       "  420     "  38.18    " 

Reno  to  Vista    8       "  103     "  12.87    " 

Vista  to   Clark's    12       "  141     "  11.75    " 

Clark's  to  Wadsworth    .    ,  15       "  186     "  12.40    " 
Wadsworth    to    Pyramid 

Lake      18 1     "  187 1  "      10.39  " 

Lake  Tahoe  to   Pyramid 

Lake    103       "        2357     "      23.11    " 

1  The  elevation  of  Pyramid  Lake  above  the  sea-level  has  never, 


PHYSICAL  STUDIES  OF  LAKE  TAHOE       65 

During  the  summer  of  1873,  the  writer  embraced  the 
opportunity  afforded  by  a  six  weeks'  sojourn  on  the  shores 
of  the  Lake  to  undertake  some  physical  studies  in  relation 
to  this  largest  of  the  "  gems  of  the  Sierra."  Furnished  with 
a  good  sounding-line  and  a  self-registering  thermometer,  he 
was  enabled  to  secure  some  interesting  and  trustworthy 
physical  results. 

(i.)  Depth.  It  is  well  known  that  considerable  diversity 
of  opinion  has  prevailed  in  relation  to  the  actual  depth  of 
Lake  Tahoe.  Sensational  newsmongers  have  unhesitatingly 
asserted  that,  in  some  portions,  it  is  absolutely  fathomless. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  actual  soundings  served  to  dispel 
or  to  rectify  this  popular  impression.  The  soundings  in- 
dicated that  there  is  a  deep  subaqueous  channel  traversing 
the  whole  Lake  in  its  greatest  dimension,  or  south  and  north. 
Beginning  at  the  southern  end,  near  the  Lake  House,  and 
advancing  along  the  long  axis  of  the  Lake  directly  north 
towards  the  Hot  Springs  at  the  northern  end  —  a  distance 
of  about  eighteen  miles  —  we  have  the  following  depths : 

Station  Depth  in  Feet     Depth  in  Meters 

1   900         274.32 

2  1385  422.14 

3  1495  455-67 

4  1500  457-19 

5  1506  459-02 

as  far  as  we  know,  been  accurately  determined.  Henry  Gannet, 
in  his  Lists  of  Elevation  (4th  ed.,  Washington,  1877,  P-  I43)> 
gives  its  altitude  above  the  sea  as  4890  feet;  and  credits  this  num- 
ber to  the  Pacific  Railroad  Reports.  But  as  this  exact  number 
appears  in  Fremont's  Report  of  Exploring  Expedition  to  Oregon 
and  North  California  in  the  Years  1843-44  (Doc.  No.  166,  p. 
217),  it  is  probable  that  the  first  rude  and  necessarily  imperfect 
estimate  has  been  copied  by  subsequent  authorities.  This  number 
is  evidently  more  than  800  feet  too  great;  for  the  railroad  station 
at  Wadsworth  (about  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  from  the  lake), 
where  the  line  of  the  railroad  leaves  the  banks  of  the  Truckee 
River,  is  only  4077  feet  above  the  sea-level.  So  that  these  num- 
bers would  make  Pyramid  Lake  813  feet  above  the  level  of  its 
affluent  at  Wadsworth;  which,  of  course,  is  impossible.  Under 
this  state  of  facts,  I  have  assumed  the  elevation  of  this  lake  to 
be  3890  feet. 


66      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Station  Depth  in  Feet  Depth  in  Meters 

6     1540  469-38 

7     1504  458.41 

8    1600  487.67 

9     1640  499.86 

10     1645  501.39 

These  figures  show  that  this  lake  exceeds  in  depth  the  deep- 
est of  the  Swiss  lakes  (the  Lake  of  Geneva),  which  has  a 
maximum  depth  of  334  meters.  On  the  Italian  side  of  the 
Alps,  however.  Lakes  Maggiore  and  Como  are  said  to  have 
depths  respectively  of  796.43  and  586.73  meters.  These  two 
lakes  are  so  little  elevated  above  the  sea  that  their  bottoms 
are  depressed  587  and  374  meters  below  the  level  of  the 
Mediterranean. 

(2.)  Relation  of  Temperature  to  Depth.  By  means  of 
a  self-registering  thermometer  (Six's)  secured  to  the  sound- 
ing-line, a  great  number  of  observations  were  made  on  the 
temperature  of  the  water  of  the  Lake  at  various  depths  and 
in  different  portions  of  the  same.  These  experiments  were 
executed  between  the  nth  and  i8th  of  August,  1873.  The 
same  general  results  were  obtained  in  all  parts  of  the  Lake. 
The  following  table  contains  the  abstract  of  the  average 
results,  after  correcting  the  thermometric  indications  by 
comparison  with  a  standard  thermometer: 

Depth  Depth         Temp,  in     Temp. 

Obs.  in  Feet  in  Meters      F.  deg.  in   C. 

1     o-Surface  o-Surface     67  19-44 

2    50  15-24  63  17.22 

3  100  30.48  55  12.78 

4  150  45-72  50  10.00 

5  200  60.96  48  8.89 

6  250  76.20  47  8.33 

7  300  91.44  46  7.78 

8  330  (Bottom)   100.58  45.5  7.50 

9  400  121.92  45  7.22 

10  480  (Bottom)   146.30  44.5  6.94 

11  500          152.40,  44  6.67 

12  600          182.88  43  6.1 1 

13  772  (Bottom)  235.30  41  5.00 

14  1506  (Bottom)  459.02     39.2     4.00 


PHYSICAL  STUDIES  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      67 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  numbers  that  the  tem- 
perature of  the  water  decreases  with  increasing  depth  to 
about  700  or  800  feet  (213  or  244  meters),  and  below  this 
depth  it  remains  sensibly  the  same  down  to  1506  feet  (459 
meters).  This  constant  temperature  which  prevails  at  all 
depths  below  say  250  meters  is  about  4  degrees  Cent.  (39.2 
Fah.).  This  is  precisely  what  might  have  been  expected; 
for  it  is  a  well  established  physical  property  of  fresh  water, 
that  it  attains  its  maximum  density  at  the  above-indicated 
temperature.  In  other  words,  a  mass  of  fresh  water  at  the 
temperature  of  4  deg.  Cent,  has  a  greater  weight  under  a 
given  volume  (that  is,  a  cubic  unit  of  it  is  heavier  at  this 
temperature)  than  it  is  at  any  temperature  either  higher  or 
lower.  Hence,  when  the  ice-cold  water  of  the  snow-fed 
streams  of  spring  and  summer  reaches  the  Lake,  it  naturally 
tends  to  sink  as  soon  as  its  temperature  rises  to  4  deg.  Cent. ; 
and,  conversely,  when  winter  sets  in,  as  soon  as  the  summer- 
heated  surface  water  is  cooled  to  4  deg.,  it  tends  to  sink. 
Any  further  rise  of  temperature  of  the  surface  water  during 
the  warm  season,  or  fall  of  temperature  during  the  cold  sea- 
son, alike  produces  expansion,  and  thus  causes  it  to  float  on 
the  heavier  water  below;  so  that  water  at  4  deg.  Cent.,  per- 
petually remains  at  the  bottom,  while  the  varying  temperature 
of  the  seasons  and  the  penetration  of  the  solar  heat  only  influ- 
ence a  surface  stratum  of  about  250  meters  in  thickness.  It 
is  evident  that  the  continual  outflow  of  water  from  its  shallow 
outlet  cannot  disturb  the  mass  of  liquid  occupying  the  deeper 
portions  of  the  Lake.  It  thus  results  that  the  temperature 
of  the  surface  stratum  of  such  bodies  of  fresh  water  for  a 
certain  depth  fluctuates  with  the  climate  and  with  the  seasons; 
but  at  the  bottom  of  deep  lakes  it  undergoes  little  or  no 
change  throughout  the  year,  and  approaches  to  that  which 
corresponds  to  the  maximum  density  of  fresh  water. 

(3.)  Why  the  Water  does  not  freeze  in  PF inter.  Resi- 
dents on  the  shore  of  Lake  Tahoe  testify  that,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  shallow  and  detached  portions,  the  water  of  the 
Lake  never  freezes  in  the  coldest  winters.  During  the  winter 
months,  the  temperature  of  atmosphere  about  this  Lake  must 
fall  as  low,  probably,  as  o  degrees  Fah.  (-17.78  deg.  Cent.). 
According  to  the  observations  of  Dr.  George  M.  Bourne,  the 


68      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

minimum  temperature  recorded  during  the  winter  of  1873-74 
was  6  deg.  Fah.  (-14.44  ^^g-  Cent.).  As  it  is  evident  that 
during  the  winter  season  the  temperature  of  the  air  must  fre- 
quently remain  for  days,  and  perhaps  weeks,  far  below  the 
freezing  point  of  water,  the  fact  that  the  water  of  the  Lake 
does  not  congeal  has  been  regarded  as  an  anomalous  phe- 
nomenon. Some  persons  imagine  that  this  may  be  due  to 
the  existence  of  subaqueous  hot  springs  in  the  bed  of  the 
Lake  —  an  opinion  which  may  seem  to  be  fortified  by  the 
fact  that  hot  springs  do  occur  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
Lake.  But  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  temperature  of  any 
considerable  body  of  water  in  the  Lake  is  sensibly  increased 
by  such  springs.  Even  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  hot 
springs  (which  have  in  summer  a  maximum  temperature  of 
55  deg.  C.  or  131  F.),  the  supply  of  warm  water  is  so  limited 
that  it  exercises  no  appreciable  influence  on  the  temperature 
of  that  portion  of  the  Lake.  This  is  further  corroborated 
by  the  fact  that  no  local  fogs  hang  over  this  or  any  other 
portion  of  the  Lake  during  the  winter  which  would  most  cer- 
tainly be  the  case  if  any  considerable  body  of  hot  water 
found  its  way  into  the  Lake. 

The  true  explanation  of  the  phenomenon  may,  doubtless, 
be  found  in  the  high  specific  heat  of  water,  the  great  depth 
of  the  Lake,  and  in  the  agitation  of  its  waters  by  the  strong 
winds  of  winter.  In  relation  to  the  influence  of  depth,  it  is 
sufficient  to  remark  that,  before  the  conditions  preceding  con- 
gelation can  obtain,  the  whole  mass  of  water  —  embracing  a 
stratum  of  250  meters  in  thickness  —  must  be  cooled  down 
to  4  deg.  Cent. ;  for  this  must  occur  before  the  vertical  cir- 
culation is  arrested  and  the  colder  water  floats  on  the  surface. 
In  consequence  of  the  great  specific  heat  of  water,  to  cool  such 
a  mass  of  the  liquid  through  an  average  temperature  of  8 
deg.  Cent,  requires  a  long  time,  and  the  cold  weather  is  over 
before  it  is  accomplished.  In  the  shallower  portions,  the 
surface  of  the  water  may  reach  the  temperature  of  congelation, 
but  the  agitations  due  to  the  action  of  strong  winds  soon 
breaks  up  the  thin  pellicle  of  ice,  which  is  quickly  melted  by 
the  heat  generated  by  the  mechanical  action  of  the  waves. 
Nevertheless,  in  shallow  and  detached  portions  of  the  Lake, 
which  are  sheltered  from  the  action  of  winds  and  waves  — 


LILY  LAKE 


L.W  t  kULK.  LAKE  TAHOE 


pVRAMib  1'i:ak  axj)  lAKi:  oi   Tin:  woods 


CLI>L:1)S   ()\-ER   Till'.    MofNTAIXS.   I.AKK    lAIlO 


PHYSICAL  STUDIES  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      69 

as  in  Emerald  Bay  —  ice  several  inches  in  thickness  is  some- 
times formed. 

(4.)  IV hy  Bodies  of  the  Drowned  do  not  Rise.  A  num- 
ber of  persons  have  been  drowned  in  Lake  Tahoe  —  some 
fourteen  between  i860  and  1874  —  ^'■^^  it  is  the  uniform 
testimony  of  the  residents,  that  in  no  case,  where  the  accident 
occurred  in  deep  water,  were  the  bodies  ever  recovered. 
This  striking  fact  has  caused  wonder-seekers  to  propound  the 
most  extraordinary  theories  to  account  for  it.  Thus  one  of 
them  says,  "  The  water  of  the  Lake  is  purity  itself,  but  on 
account  of  the  highly  rarified  state  of  the  air  it  is  not  very 
buoyant,  and  swimmers  find  some  little  fatigue;  or,  in  other 
words,  they  are  compelled  to  keep  swimming  all  the  time  they 
are  in  the  water;  and  objects  which  float  easily  in  other  water 
sink  here  like  lead."  Again  he  says,  "  Not  a  thing  ever  floats 
on  the  surface  of  this  Lake,  save  and  except  the  boats  which 
ply  upon  it." 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  that  it  is  impossible  that 
the  diminution  of  atmospheric  pressure,  due  to  an  elevation 
of  6250  feet  (1905  meters)  above  the  sea-level,  could  sen- 
sibly affect  the  density  of  the  water.  In  fact,  the  coefficient 
of  compressibility  of  this  liquid  is  so  small  that  the  withdrawal 
of  the  above  indicated  amount  of  pressure  (about  one-fifth 
of  an  atmosphere)  would  not  lower  its  density  more  than  one 
hundred-thousandth  part!  The  truth  is,  that  the  specific 
gravity  is  not  lower  than  that  of  any  other  fresh  water  of 
equal  purity  and  corresponding  temperature.  It  is  not  less 
buoyant  nor  more  difficult  to  swim  in  than  any  other  fresh 
water;  and  consequently  the  fact  that  the  bodies  of  the 
drowned  do  not  rise  to  the  surface  cannot  be  accounted  for 
by  ascribing  marvelous  properties  to  its  waters. 

The  distribution  of  temperature  with  depth  affords  a 
natural  and  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  phenomenon,  and 
renders  entirely  superfluous  any  assumption  of  extraordinary 
lightness  in  the  water.  The  true  reason  why  the  bodies  of 
the  drowned  do  not  rise  to  the  surface  is  evidently  owing 
to  the  fact  that  when  they  sink  into  water  which  is  only  4 
deg.  Cent.  (7.2  deg.  Fah.)  above  the  freezing  temperature, 
the  gases  usually  generated  by  decomposition  are  not  produced 
in  the  intestines ;  in  other  words,  at  this  low  temperature  the 


70      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

bodies  do  not  become  inflated,  and  therefore  do  not  rise  to 
the  surface.  The  same  phenomenon  would  doubtless  occur 
in  any  other  body  of  fresh  water  under  similar  physical  con- 
ditions.-"- 

(5.)  Transparency  of  the  Water.  All  visitors  to  this 
beautiful  Lake  are  struck  with  the  extraordinary  transparency 
of  the  water.  At  a  depth  of  15  to  20  meters  (49.21  to  65.62 
feet),  every  object  on  the  bottom  —  on  a  calm  sunny  day  — 
is  seen  with  the  greatest  distinctness.  On  the  6th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1873,  the  writer  executed  a  series  of  experiments  with 
the  view  of  testing  the  transparency  of  the  water.  A  num- 
ber of  other  experiments  were  made  August  28  and  29,  under 
less  favorable  conditions.  By  securing  a  white  object  of 
considerable  size  —  a  horizontally  adjusted  dinner-plate  about 
9.5  inches  in  diameter  —  to  the  sounding-line,  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  (at  noon)  it  was  plainly  visible  at  a  vertical 
depth  of  33  meters,  or  108.27  English  feet.  It  must  be  recol- 
lected that  the  light  reaching  the  eye  from  such  submerged 
objects  must  have  traversed  a  thickness  of  water  equal  to  at 
least  twice  the  measured  depth ;  in  the  above  case,  it  must  have 
been  at  least  66  meters,  or  216.54  feet.  Furthermore,  when  it 
is  considered  that  the  amount  of  light  regularly  reflected  from 
such  a  surface  as  that  of  a  dinner-plate,  under  large  angles  of 
incidence  in  relation  to  the  surface,  is  known  to  be  a  very 
small  fraction  of  the  incident  beam  (probably  not  exceeding 
three  or  four  per  cent.),  it  is  evident  that  solar  light  must 
penetrate  to  vastly  greater  depths  in  these  pellucid  waters. 

Moreover,  it  is  quite  certain  that  if  the  experiments  in 
relation  to  the  depths  corresponding  to  the  limit  of  visibility 
of  the  submerged  white  disk  had  been  executed  in  winter  in- 
stead of  summer,  much  larger  numbers  would  have  been 
obtained.  For  it  is  now  well  ascertained,  by  means  of  the 
researches  of  Dr.  F.  A.  Forel  of  Lausanne,  that  the  waters 
of  Alpine  lakes  are  decidedly  more  transparent  in  winter  than 
in  summer.  Indeed,  it  is  reasonable  that  when  the  affluents 
of  such  lakes  are  locked  in  the  icy  fetters  of  winter,  much 

lit  should  be  noted  that  since  1874  there  have  been  remarkably 
few  deaths  from  drowning  in  Lake  Tahoe,  and  that  the  major 
cases  of  those  referred  to  by  Dr.  LeConte  were  of  workmen  and 
others  who  were  generally  under  the  influence  of  intoxicants. 


PHYSICAL  STUDIES  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      71 

less  suspended  matter  is  carried  into  them  than  in  summer, 
when  all  the  sub-glacial  streams  are  in  active  operation. 

Professor  Le  Conte  goes  into  this  subject  (as  he  later  does 
into  the  subject  of  the  color  of  Lake  Tahoe)  somewhat  ex- 
haustively in  a  purely  scientific  manner  and  in  too  great 
length  for  the  purposes  of  this  chapter,  hence  the  scientific 
or  curious  reader  is  referred  to  the  original  articles  for  fur- 
ther information  and  discussion. 

Color  of  the  Waters  of  Lake  Tahoe.  One  of  the  most 
striking  features  of  this  charming  mountain  Lake  is  the 
beautiful  hues  presented  by  its  pellucid  waters.  On  a  calm, 
clear,  sunny  day,  wherever  the  depth  is  not  less  than  from 
fifty  to  sixty  meters,  to  an  observer  floating  above  its  sur- 
face, the  water  assumes  various  shades  of  blue ;  from  a  bril- 
liant Cyan  blue  (greenish-blue)  to  the  most  magnificent  ultra- 
marine blue  or  deep  indigo  blue.  The  shades  of  blue  increas- 
ing in  darkness  in  the  order  of  the  colors  of  the  solar  spectrum, 
are  as  follows:  Cyan-blue  (greenish  blue),  Prussian-blue, 
Cobalt-blue,  genuine  ultramarine-blue,  and  artificial  ultra- 
marine-blue (violet  blue).  While  traversing  one  portion  of 
the  Lake  in  a  steamer,  a  lady  endowed  with  a  remarkable 
natural  appreciation  and  discrimination  of  shades  of  color  de- 
clared that  the  exact  tint  of  the  water  at  this  point  was 
"  Marie-Louise  blue." 

The  waters  of  this  Lake  exhibit  the  most  brilliant  blueness 
in  the  deep  portions,  which  are  remote  from  the  fouling  influ- 
ences of  the  sediment-bearing  affluents,  and  the  washings  of 
the  shores.  On  a  bright  and  calm  day,  when  viewed  in  the 
distance,  it  had  the  ultramarine  hue;  but  when  looked  fair 
down  upon,  it  was  of  almost  inky  blackness  —  a  solid  dark 
blue  qualified  by  a  trace  of  purple  or  violet.  Under  these 
favorable  conditions,  the  appearance  presented  was  not  un- 
like that  of  the  liquid  in  a  vast  natural  dyeing-vat. 

A  clouded  state  of  the  sky,  as  was  to  be  expected,  produced 
the  well-known  effects  due  to  the  diminished  intensity  of  light ; 
the  shades  of  blue  became  darker,  and,  in  extreme  cases,  al- 
most black-blue.  According  to  our  observations,  the  obscura- 
tions of  the  sky  by  the  interposition  of  clouds  produced  no 


72      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

other  modifications  of  tints  than  those  due  to  a  diminution  of 
luminosity. 

In  places  where  the  depth  is  comparatively  small  and  the 
bottom  is  visibly  w^hite,  the  water  assumes  various  shades  of 
green;  from  a  delicate  apple-green  to  the  most  exquisite 
emerald-green.  Near  the  southern  and  western  shores  of 
the  Lake,  the  white,  sandy  bottom  brings  out  the  green  tints 
very  strikingly  In  the  charming  cul-de-sac  called  "  Emerald 
Bay,"  it  is  remarkably  conspicuous  and  exquisitely  beautiful. 
In  places  where  the  stratum  of  water  covering  white  por- 
tions of  the  bottom  is  only  a  few  meters  in  thickness,  the 
green  hue  is  not  perceptible,  unless  viewed  from  such  a  dis- 
tance that  the  rays  of  light  emitted  obliquely  from  the 
white  surface  have  traversed  a  considerable  thickness  of  the 
liquid  before  reaching  the  eye  of  the  observer. 

The  experiments  with  the  submerged  white  dinner-plate, 
in  testing  the  transparency  of  the  water,  incidentally  mani- 
fested, to  some  extent,  the  influence  of  depth  on  the  color  of 
the  water.  The  white  disk  presented  a  bluish-green  tint  at 
the  depth  of  from  nine  to  twelve  meters;  at  about  fifteen 
meters  it  assumed  a  greenish-blue  hue,  and  the  blue  element 
increased  in  distinctness  with  augmenting  depth,  until  the 
disk  became  invisible  or  undistinguishable  in  the  surrounding 
mass  of  blue  waters.  The  water  intervening  between  the 
white  disk  and  the  observer  did  not  present  the  brilliant  and 
vivid  green  tint  which  characterized  that  which  is  seen  in 
the  shallow  portions  of  the  Lake,  where  the  bottom  is  white. 
But  this  is  not  surprising,  when  we  consider  the  small  amount 
of  diffused  light  which  can  reach  the  eye  from  so  limited  a 
surface  of  diffusion. 

In  studying  the  chromatic  tints  of  these  waters,  a  hollow 
pasteboard  cylinder,  five  or  six  centimeters  in  diameter,  and 
sixty  or  seventy  centimeters  in  length,  was  sometimes  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  of  excluding  the  surface  reflection  and 
the  disturbances  due  to  the  small  ripples  on  the  water.  When 
quietly  floating  in  a  small  row-boat,  one  end  of  this  exploring 
tube  was  plunged  under  the  water,  and  the  eye  of  the  ob- 
server at  the  other  extremity  received  the  rays  of  light 
emanating  from  the  deeper  portions  of  the  liquid.  The 
light  thus  reaching  the  eye  presented  essentially  the  same 


PHYSICAL  STUDIES  OF  LAKE  TAHOE       73 

variety  of  tints  in  the  various  portions  of  the  Lake  as  those 
which   have   been  previously  indicated. 

Hence  it  appears  that  under  various  conditions  —  such 
as  depth,  purity,  state  of  sky  and  color  of  bottom  —  the 
waters  of  this  Lake  manifest  nearly  all  the  chromatic  tints 
presented  in  the  solar  spectrum  between  greenish-yellow  and 
the  darkest  ultramarine-blue,  bordering  upon  black-blue. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  waters  of  oceans  and  seas  ex- 
hibit similar  gradations  of  chromatic  hues  in  certain  regions. 
Navigators  have  been  struck  with  the  variety  and  richness 
of  tints  presented,  in  certain  portions,  by  the  waters  of  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans,  and 
especially  those  of  the  Caribbean  Sea.  In  some  regions  of 
the  oceans  and  seas,  the  green  hues,  and  particularly  those 
tinged  with  yellow,  are  observed  in  comparatively  deep 
waters,  or,  at  least,  where  the  depths  are  sufficiently  great 
to  prevent  the  bottom  from  being  visible.  But  this  phe- 
nomenon seems  to  require  the  presence  of  a  considerable 
amount  of  suspended  matter  in  the  water.  In  no  portion 
of  Lake  Tahoe  did  I  observe  any  of  the  green  tints,  except 
where  the  light-colored  bottom  w^as  visible.  This  was,  prob- 
ably, owing  to  the  circumstance  that  no  considerable  quantity 
of  suspended  matter  existed  in  any  of  the  waters  observed. 

Rhythmical  Variations  of  Level  in  Lakes:  or  "Seiches." — 
As  might  be  expected,  the  waters  of  Lake  Tahoe  are  sub- 
ject to  fluctuations  of  level,  depending  upon  the  variable 
supplies  furnished  by  its  numerous  affluents.  In  mid-winter, 
when  these  streams  are  bound  in  icy  fetters,  the  level  falls; 
while  in  the  months  of  May  and  June,  when  the  snows  of 
the  amphitheater  of  mountain-slopes  are  melting  most  rapidly, 
the  level  of  the  Lake  rises,  and  a  maximum  amount  of  water 
escapes  through  its  outlet.  According  to  the  observations  of 
Capt.  John  McKinney,  made  at  his  residence  on  the  western 
shore  of  this  Lake,  the  average  seasonal  fluctuation  of  level 
is  about  0.61  of  a  meter;  but  in  extreme  seasons  it  sometimes 
amounts  to  1.37  meters.  The  Lake  of  Geneva,  in  like  man- 
ner. Is  liable  to  fluctuations  of  level  amounting  to  from  1.95 
to  2.60  meters,  from  the  melting  of  the  Alpine  snows. 

But  besides  these  variations  of  level  due  to  the  variable 
quantities  of  water  discharged  into  them  by  their  affluents. 


74      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

many  lakes  of  moderate  dimensions  are  liable  to  rhythmical 
oscillations  of  level  of  short  duration,  which  are,  obviously, 
but  produced  by  fluctuations  in  the  supply  of  w^ater.  It  is 
to  this  kind  of  species  of  variation  of  level  that  our  atten- 
tion will  be  directed  in  the  sequel. 

This  interesting  phenomenon  was  first  recognized  in  the 
Lake  of  Geneva;  but  was  subsequently  found  to  be  common 
to  all  the  Swiss  lakes,  as  well  as  to  those  of  Scotland.  It 
is,  therefore,  a  general  phenomenon,  which  may  be  observed 
in  all  lakes  of  moderate  dimensions.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  shores  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva  have  long  designated  this 
rhythmical  oscillation  of  the  level  of  the  water  by  the  term  of 
Seiche;  and  this  designation  has  been  adopted  by  scientific 
writers. 

These  Seiches  were  first  signalized  in  the  Lake  of  Geneva 
in  1730,  by  Fatio  de  Duillier,  who  ascribed  them  to  the 
checking  of  the  flow  of  the  waters  of  the  Rhone  on  the  shoal 
near  Geneva  by  the  force  of  the  wind  at  mid-day.  Addison 
and  Jallabert,  in  1742,  supposed  them  to  be  caused  by  sud- 
den increments  in  the  discharge  of  the  affluents,  due  to  the 
augmentation  in  the  amount  of  snow  melted  after  mid-day; 
or  to  the  sudden  increase  in  the  flow  of  the  Arve,  checking 
the  outflow  of  water  by  the  Rhone.  Bertrand  supposed 
that  electrified  clouds  might  locally  attract  and  elevate  the 
waters  of  the  lake,  and  thus  produce  oscillations  of  level. 
H.  B.  de  Saussure,  in  1799,  attributed  the  phenomenon  to 
rapid  local  variations  of  atmospheric  pressure  on  different 
parts  of  the  lake.  J.  P.  E.  Vaucher,  in  1802  and  1 804, 
adopted  de  Saussure's  explanation,  and  confirmed  it  by  many 
excellent  observations.  He,  moreover,  established  that 
Seiches,  more  or  less  considerable,  occur  in  all  the  Swiss 
lakes;  and  that  they  take  place  at  all  seasons  of  the  year, 
and  at  all  times  of  the  day;  but,  in  general,  more  frequently 
in  spring  and  autumn.  As  regards  the  cause  of  the  phe- 
nomenon, Vaucher  shows  how  rapid  local  alterations  of  at- 
mospheric pressure  would  produce  oscillations  in  the  level 
of  the  lake,  and  compares  them  to  the  vibrations  of  a  liquid 
in  a  recurved  tube  or  siphon.  Finally,  Arago  maintained 
that  Seiches  may  arise  from  various  causes,  and  traced 
the  analogy  between  them  and  certain  remarkable  oscilla- 


PHYSICAL  STUDIES  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      75 

tions  of  the  sea,  including  those  arising  from  earthquakes. 

But  physical  science  is  indebted  to  Professor  F.  A.  Forel, 
of  Lausanne,  for  the  most  complete  and  exhaustive  investi- 
gation in  relation  to  the  phenomena  of  S'eiches.  This  ac- 
complished physicist  began  his  researches  in  1869,  and  has 
continued  them  up  to  the  present  time.  He  has  been  able 
to  demonstrate  that  these  rhythmical  oscillations  occur  in 
nearly  all  the  Swiss  Lakes  (he  studied  the  phenomena  in 
nine  of  them),  and  that  they  follow  in  all  cases  the  same 
general  laws.  Those  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva  have  received 
the  most  elaborate  and  prolonged  investigation.  In  March, 
1876,  Forel  established  a  self-registering  tide-gauge  (limni- 
metre  enregistreur)  on  the  northern  shore  of  this  lake,  at 
Morges;  and,  with  the  cooperation  of  P.  Plantamour,  an- 
other one  was  installed  in  June,  1877,  at  Secheron,  near  the 
city  of  Geneva,  at  the  southern  extremity.  Since  these  dates, 
these  two  instruments  have,  respectively,  been  registering 
oscillations  of  the  level  of  the  water  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva; 
and  they  are  so  sensitive  as  to  indicate  the  waves  generated 
by  a  steamer  navigating  the  lake  at  a  distance  of  ten  or 
fifteen  kilometers. 

From  a  most  searching  investigation  of  all  the  phenomena 
presented  by  the  Seiches  in  the  Swiss  Lakes,  Forel  deduces 
the  conclusion  that  they  are  really  movements  of  steady  uni- 
nodal  oscillations  (balanced  undulations),  in  which  the  whole 
mass  of  water  in  the  lake  rhythmically  swings  from  shore  to 
shore.  And,  moreover,  he  shows  that  the  water  oscillates 
according  to  the  two  principal  dimensions  of  the  lake ;  thus, 
giving  rise  to  longitudinal  Seiches  and  transverse  Seiches. 
They  occur  in  series  of  tautochronous  oscillations  of  de- 
creasing amplitude;  the  first  wave  produced  by  the  action 
of  a  given  cause  having  a  maximum  amplitude. 

Causes.  The  disturbances  of  hydrostatic  equilibrium 
which  generate  Seiches  may  be  produced  by  a  variety  of 
causes.  Among  these,  the  following  may  be  cited:  (a) 
Sudden  local  variations  of  atmospheric  pressure  on  different 
parts  of  the  lake,  (b)  A  descending  wind,  striking  the  sur- 
face of  the  lake  over  a  limited  area,  (c)  Thunder-storms, 
hail-storms,  and  water-spouts;  and  especially  when  the  ac- 
companying winds  act  vertically,     (d)   The  fall  of  a  large 


76      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

avalanche,  or  of  a  land-slide  into  the  lake,  (e)  And  lastly, 
earthquakes. 

Observations  show  that  the  most  frequent  and  evident  of 
these  causes  are  variations  of  atmospheric  pressure  and  local 
storms.  With  regard  to  earthquake  shocks  as  a  cause  of 
such  fluctuations  of  level,  it  is  a  singular  and  significant 
fact  that  since  Forel  has  established  the  delicate  self-regis- 
tering apparatus  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  no 
less  than  twelve  earthquake  shocks  have  been  experienced 
in  this  portion  of  Switzerland,  and  they  have  had  no 
sensible  influence  on  these  sensitive  instruments.  In  fact, 
a  little  consideration  in  relation  to  the  character  of  such 
shocks  renders  it  highly  improbable  that  such  brief  tremors 
of  the  earth's  crust  could  have  been  any  agency  in  the  gen- 
eration of  rhythmical  oscillations  of  the  whole  mass  of  water 
in  the  lake.  Indeed,  it  is  very  questionable  whether  any 
earthquake  waves  are  ever  produced  in  the  ocean,  except 
when  the  sea-bottom  undergoes  a  permanent  vertical  displace- 
ment. 

Lake  Tahoe.  From  inquiries  made  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  shores  of  Lake  Tahoe,  I  was  not  able  to  discover  that 
any  rhythmical  oscillations  of  the  level  of  its  waters  have  ever 
been  noticed.  Some  residents  declared  that  they  had  ob- 
served sudden  fluctuations  of  level,  which,  from  their  sud- 
denness, they  were  disposed  to  ascribe  to  disturbances  of  the 
bottom  of  the  Lake  due  to  volcanic  agencies,  although  they 
were  unable  to  coordinate  such  oscillations  with  any  earth- 
quake manifestations  on  the  adjacent  shores. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  until  arrangements  are  con- 
summated for  recording  systematic  observations  on  the  vari- 
ations of  the  level  of  this  Lake,  we  cannot  expect  that  its 
Seiches  will  be  detected.  Of  course,  self-registering  gauges 
would  give  the  most  satisfactory  results;  but  any  graduated 
gauge,  systematically  observed,  would  soon  furnish  evidence 
of  the  phenomenon.  For  the  longitudinal  Seiches,  "  Hot 
Springs,"  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the  Lake,  or  "  Lake 
House,"  at  the  southern  end,  would  be  eligible  stations  for 
gauges;  and  for  the  transverse  Seiches,  Glenbrook,  on  the 
eastern  shore,  or  Capt.  McKinney's  on  the  western  margin, 
would  afford  good  stations. 


PHYSICAL  STUDIES  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      77 

As  far  as  I  am  aware,  true  Seiches  have  never  been  ob- 
served in  any  of  the  American  lakes.  This  fact  is  the  more 
remarkable  from  the  circumstance  that  long-continued  and 
careful  observations  have  been  made  on  the  fluctuations  of 
level  of  several  of  the  large  Canadian  lakes,  with  the  view 
of  testing  the  possible  existence  of  lunar  tides.  Perhaps 
these  lakes  may  be  too  large  to  manifest  the  uninodal  rhyth- 
mical oscillations  which  have  been  so  successfully  studied  by 
Forel  in  the  smaller  lakes  of  Switzerland.^ 

Be  this  as  it  may,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Lake  Tahoe 
Is  a  body  of  water  in  all  respects  adapted  for  the  manifesta- 
tion of  this  species  of  oscillation;  and  that,  like  the  Swiss 
lakes,  it  is  subject  to  Seiches.  Indeed,  the  far  greater  sim- 
plicity in  the  configuration  of  the  basin  of  Lake  Tahoe  than 
that  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva  must  render  the  phenomena 
much  less  complicated  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter. 

Professor  LeConte  then  gives  his  computations  as  to  the 
probable  duration  of  the  oscillations  on  Lake  Tahoe,  should 
they  occur  there. 

1  It  is  proper  to  add  that  Fluctuations  of  level  in  the  North 
American  lakes  have  been  noticed  by  various  observers,  from  the 
time  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers  of  the  period  of  Marquette,  in  1673, 
down  to  the  present  epoch.  Among  those  who  have  discussed 
this  problem  may  be  mentioned  in  chronological  order:  Fra 
Marquette  in  1673,  Baron  La  Hontan  1689,  Charlevoix  1721, 
Carver  1766,  Weld  1796,  Major  S.  A.  Storrov?  1817,  Capt.  Henry 
Whiting  1819,  H.  R.  Schoolcraft  1820,  Gen.  Dearborn  1826-29. 


CHAPTER  VII 

HOW   LAKE   TAHOE   WAS   FORMED 

LINDGREN,  the  geologist,  affirms  that  after  the 
Sierra  Nevada  range  was  thrust  up,  high  into  the 
heavens,  vast  and  long  continued  erosion  "  planed 
down  this  range  to  a  surface  of  conaparatively  gentle  topog- 
raphy." He  claims  that  it  must  originally  have  been  of 
great  height.  Traces  of  this  eroded  range  (Cretaceous) 
"  still  remain  in  a  number  of  flat-topped  hills  and  ridges  that 
rise  above  the  later  tertiary  surface.  There  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  this  planed-down  mountain  range  had  a  symmetrical 
structure,  for  somewhat  to  the  east  of  the  present  divide  is 
a  well-marked  old  crest  line  extending  from  the  Grizzly  Peak 
Mountains  on  the  north,  in  Plumas  County,  at  least  as  far 
south  as  Pyramid  Peak,  in  Eldorado  County.  At  sometime 
in  the  later  part  of  the  Cretaceous  period  the  first  breaks  took 
place,  changing  the  structure  of  the  range  from  symmetrical 
to  monoclinal  and  outlining  the  present  form  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada." 

This  great  disturbance  he  thinks,  "  was  of  a  two-fold  char- 
acter, consisting  of  the  lifting  up  of  a  large  area  including  at 
least  a  part  of  the  present  Great  Basin  [Nevada  and  Utah] 
and  a  simultaneous  breaking  and  settling  of  the  higher  por- 
tions of  the  arch.  Along  the  eastern  margin  a  system  of  frac- 
tures was  thus  outlined  which  toward  the  close  of  the  Ter- 
tiary was  to  be  still  further  emphasized.  The  main  break 
probably  extended  from  a  point  south  of  Mono  Lake  to  Ante- 

78 


HOW  LAKE  TAHOE  WAS  FORMED         79 

lope  Valley  and  from  Markleeville  northward  toward  Sierra 
Valley.  A  large  part  of  the  crust  block  to  the  west  of  this 
dislocation  also  sank  down.  This  sunken  area  is  now  indi- 
cated by  Lake  Tahoe  and  by  its  northward  continuation, 
Sierra  Valley,  separated  from  each  other  only  by  masses  of 
Tertiary  lavas.  ...  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  within  the  area 
of  the  range  no  volcanic  eruptions  accompanied  this  subsi- 
dence." 

He  continues:  "  As  a  consequence  of  this  uplift  the  ero- 
sive power  of  the  streams  was  rejuvenated,  the  Cretaceous 
surface  of  gentle  outline  was  dissected,  and  the  rivers  began 
to  cut  back  behind  the  old  divide,  carrying  their  heads  nearly 
to  the  present  crest  line  that  separates  the  slope  of  the  Sierra 
from  the  depression  of  Lake  Tahoe." 

These  rivers  are  the  great  gold  bearing  streams  that  caused 
the  mining  excitement  of  1849.  They  all  head  near  the  Ta- 
hoe region,  and  include  the  Yuba,  Feather,  American,  Moke- 
lumne,  Calaveras,  Cataract,  and  Tuolumne. 

Here,  then,  were  two  crest  lines  —  the  old  Cretaceous  line 
of  which  the  Crystal  Range  immediately  overlooking  Desola- 
tion Valley  on  the  west,  with  Pyramid  and  Agassiz  Peaks  as 
its  salient  points, —  and  the  new  Tertiary  crest  line,  reaching 
somewhat  irregularly  from  Honey  Lake  in  the  north  to  Mono 
Lake  in  the  south.  At  the  north  of  Lake  Tahoe,  "  southwest 
of  Reno,  a  large  andesitic  volcano  poured  forth  lavas  which 
extend  between  the  Truckee  River  Canyon  and  the  Washoe 
Valley.  In  the  region  extending  northward  from  Lake  Ta- 
hoe to  Sierra  Valley  enormous  andesitic  eruptions  took  place, 
and  the  products  of  these  volcanoes  are  now  piled  up  as  high 
mountains,  among  which  Mount  Pluto  nearly  attains  9000 
feet." 

These  are  the  volcanic  lavas  which  united  the  two  crests 

I  forming  the  eastern  and  western  borders  of  the  Tahoe  basin 

or  depression,  and  through  which  the  Truckee  River  had  in 


8o      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

some  way  to  find  passage  ere  it  could  discharge  its  waters 
into  Pyramid  Lake,  resting  in  the  bosom  of  the  Great  Basin. 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  crude  Tahoe  basin  ready  for  the 
reception  of  water.  This  came  from  the  snow  and  rainfall  on 
its  large  and  mountainous  drainage  area,  a  hundred  greater 
and  lesser  streams  directly  and  indirectly  discharging  their 
flow  into  its  tremendous  gulf. 

Its  later  topography  has  been  materially  modified  by  glacial 
action,  and  this  is  fully  discussed  by  Professor  Joseph  Le 
Conte  in  the  following  chapter. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  while  Mt.  Pluto 
was  being  formed,  other  vast  volcanic  outpourings  were  tak- 
ing place.  Well  back  to  the  west  of  the  Tahoe  region  great 
volcanoes  poured  out  rhyolite,  a  massive  rock  of  light  gray 
to  pink  color  and  of  fine  grain,  which  shows  small  crystals 
of  quartz  and  sanidine  in  a  streaky  and  glossy  ground  mass. 
On  the  summits  nearer  to  Tahoe  the  volcanic  outflows  were 
of  andesite,  a  rough  and  porous  rock  of  dark  gray  to  dark 
brown  color.  Lindgren  says:  "  By  far  the  greater  part  of 
the  andesite  occurs  in  the  form  of  a  tuffaceous  breccia  in  nu- 
merous superimposed  flows.  These  breccias  must  have  issued 
from  fissures  near  the  summit  of  the  range  and  were,  either 
before  their  eruption  or  at  the  time  of  issue,  mixed  with  enor- 
mous quantities  of  water,  forming  mud  flows  sufficiently  fluid 
to  spread  down  the  slope  for  distances  of  fifty  or  sixty  miles. 
The  derivation  of  the  water  and  the  exact  mode  of  eruption 
are  difficult  to  determine.  .  .  .  Towards  the  summits  the 
breccias  gradually  lose  their  stratified  character  and  become 
more  firmly  cemented.  Over  large  areas  in  the  Truckee 
quadrangle  the  andesite  masses  consist  of  breccias  containing 
numerous  dykes  and  necks  of  massive  andesite.  .  .  . 

"  The  andesite  volcanoes  were  mainly  located  along  the 
crest  of  the  Sierra,  in  fact,  almost  continuously  from  Thomp- 
son Peak,  west  of  Honey  Lake,  down  to  latitude  38°   10'. 


HOW  LAKE  TAHOE  WAS  FORMED         8i 

Farther  south  the  eruptions  diminished  greatly  in  intensity. 
.  .  .  Along  the  first  summit  of  the  range  west  of  Tahoe  the 
greatest  number  of  vents  are  found.  Beginning  at  Webber 
Lake  on  the  north,  they  include  Mount  Lola,  Castle  Peak, 
Mount  Lincoln,  Tinker  Knob,  Mount  Mildred  and  Twin 
Peak.  The  andesite  masses  here  in  places  attain  a  thickness 
of  200O  feet.  An  interval  followed  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  Pyramid  Peak  quadrangle  where  no  important  volcanoes 
were  located,  but  they  appear  again  in  full  force  in  Alpine 
County.  Round  Top,  attaining  an  elevation  of  10,430  feet, 
and  the  adjacent  peaks,  were  the  sources  of  the  enormous 
flows  which  covered  a  large  part  of  Eldorado  County.  Still 
another  volcanic  complex  with  many  eruptive  vents  is  that  sit- 
uated in  the  western  part  of  Alpine  County,  near  Marklee- 
ville,  which  culminates  in  Highland  Peak  and  Raymond  Peak, 
the  former  almost  reaching  11,000  feet.  The  total  thick- 
ness of  the  volcanic  flows  in  this  locality  is  as  much  as  4000 
feet." 

It  is  to  these  breccias  we  owe  the  volcanic  appearances  in 
the  Truckee  River  Canyon,  a  few  miles  before  reaching  the 
Lake.  There  are  several  layers  of  the  andesites  breccias  at 
the  head  of  Bear  Creek  Canyon,  above  Deer  Park  Springs. 

"  None  of  the  craters,"  says  Lindgren,  "  of  these  volcanoes 
are  preserved,  and  at  the  time  of  their  greatest  activity  they 
may  have  reached  a  height  of  several  thousand  feet  above  the 
present  summits." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    GLACIAL    HISTORY   OF    LAKE   TAHOE 

WE  have  already  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter  how 
the  great  basin,  in  which  Lake  Tahoe  rests,  was 
turned  out  in  the  rough  from  Nature's  work- 
shop. It  must  now  be  smoothed  down,  its  angularities  re- 
moved, its  sharpest  features  eliminated,  and  soft  and  fertile 
banks  prepared  upon  which  trees,  shrubs,  plants  and  flowers 
might  spring  forth  to  give  beauty  to  an  otherwise  naked  and 
barren  scene. 

It  is  almost  impossible  for  one  to  picture  the  Tahoe  basin 
at  this  time.  There  may  have  been  water  in  it,  or  there  may 
not.  All  the  great  mountain  peaks,  most  of  them,  perhaps, 
much  higher  by  several  thousands  of  feet  than  at  present,  were 
rude,  rough,  jagged  masses,  fresh  from  the  factory  of  God. 
There  was  not  a  tree,  not  a  shrub,  not  a  flower,  not  a  blade  of 
grass.  No  bird  sang  its  cheering  song,  or  delighted  the  eye 
with  its  gorgeous  plumage;  not  even  a  frog  croaked,  a  cicada 
rattled,  or  a  serpent  hissed.  All  was  barren  desolation,  fear- 
ful silence  and  ghastly  newness. 

What  were  the  forces  that  produced  so  marvelous  a  change? 

Snowflakes, — "  flowers  of  the  air," —  as  John  Muir  so  po- 
etically calls  them.  They  accomplished  the  work.  Falling 
alone  they  could  have  done  nothing,  but  coming  down  in  vast 
numbers,  day  after  day,  they  piled  up  and  became  a  power. 
Snow  forms  glaciers,  and  glaciers  are  mighty  forces  that  cre- 
ate things. 

Let  us,  if  possible,  stand  and  watch  the  Master  Workman 

82 


^^%p,.W 


^ 

4 

U, 


CIL^IOKK   LAKK,   PYRAMID   PEAK  AND  THE  CRYSTAL  RANGE, 
IN  WINTER,   FROM   SUMINIIT  OF  MOUNT  TALLAC 


DESOLATION  VALLEY,   Li)()KlX(i    TOWARD  MOSQUITO  PASS 


HI-:. \TI  I  F.U    I.AKK,   .\i:.\l^   CI. EX    AI.IMXK 


II     I.AKK,   NK.XK  GLEN  ALPINE  SPRINGS 


GLACIAL  HISTORY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      83 

doing  the  work  that  is  to  make  this  region  our  source  of  pres- 
ent day  joy.  We  will  make  the  ascent  and  stand  on  the  sum- 
mit of  Pyramid  Peak.  This  is  now  10,020  feet  above  sea 
level,  rising  almost  sheer  above  Desolation  Valley  immediately 
at  our  feet. 

The  first  thing  that  arrests  the  visitor's  attention  is  the  pe- 
culiar shape  of  the  peak  upon  which  he  stands,  and  of  the 
whole  of  the  Crystal  Range.  Both  east  and  west  it  is  a  great 
precipice,  with  a  razor-like  edge,  which  seems  to  have  been 
especially  designed  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  the  clouds  and 
snow  blown  over  the  mountain  ranges  of  the  High  Sierras, 
and  preventing  their  contents  falling  upon  the  waste  and 
thirsty,  almost  desert-areas  of  western  Nevada,  which  lie  a 
few  miles  further  east. 

Whence  do  the  rains  and  snow-storms  come? 

One  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  a  trifle  more  or  less,  to  the 
westward  is  the  vast  bosom  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Its  warm 
current  is  constantly  kissed  by  the  fervid  sun  and  its  water 
allured,  in  the  shape  of  mist  and  fog,  to  ascend  into  the  heav- 
ens above.  Here  it  is  gently  wafted  by  the  steady  ocean 
breezes  over  the  land  to  the  east.  In  the  summer  the  wind 
currents  now  and  again  swing  the  clouds  thus  formed  north- 
ward, and  Oregon  and  Washington  receive  rain  from  the  op- 
eration of  the  sun  upon  the  Pacific  Ocean  of  the  south.  In 
June  and  July,  however,  the  Tahoe  region  sees  occasional 
rains  which  clear  the  atmosphere,  freshen  the  flowers  and 
trees,  and  give  an  added  charm  to  everything.  But  in  the 
fall  and  winter  the  winds  send  the  clouds  more  directly  east- 
ward, and  in  crossing  the  Sierran  summits  the  mist  and  fog 
become  colder  and  colder,  until,  when  the  clouds  are  ar- 
rested by  the  stern  barriers  of  the  Crystal  Range,  and  neces- 
sity compels  them  to  discharge  their  burden,  they  scatter  snow 
so  profusely  that  one  who  sees  this  region  only  in  the  summer 
has  no  conception  of  its  winter  appearance.    The  snow  does 


84      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

not  fall  as  in  ordinary  storms,  but,  in  these  altitudes,  the  very 
heavens  seem  to  press  down,  ladened  with  snow,  and  it  falls 
in  sheets  to  a  depth  of  five,  ten,  twenty,  thirty  and  even  more 
feet,  on  the  level. 

Look  now,  however,  at  the  western  edge  of  the  Crystal 
Range.  It  has  no  "  slopes."  It  is  composed  of  a  series  of 
absolute  precipices,  on  the  edge  of  one  of  which  we  stand. 
These  precipices,  and  the  razor  edge,  are  fortified  and  but- 
tressed by  arms  which  reach  out  westward  and  form  rude 
crescents,  called  by  the  French  geologists  cirques,  for  here  the 
snow  lodges,  and  is  packed  to  great  density  and  solidity  with 
all  the  force,  fervor  and  fury  of  the  mountain  winds. 

But  the  snow  does  not  fall  alone  on  the  western  cirques. 
It  discharges  with  such  prodigality,  and  the  wind  demands 
its  release  with  such  precipitancy,  that  it  lodges  in  equally 
vast  masses  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Crystal  Range.  For, 
while  the  eastern  side  of  this  range  is  steep  enough  to  be 
termed  in  general  parlance  "  precipitous,"  it  has  a  decided 
slope  when  compared  with  the  sheer  drop  of  the  western 
side.  Here  the  configuration  and  arrangement  of  the  rock- 
masses  also  have  created  a  number  of  cirques,  where  remnants 
of  the  winter's  snow  masses  are  yet  to  be  seen.  These  snow 
masses  are  baby  glaciers,  or  snow  being  slowly  manufactured 
into  glaciers,  or,  as  some  authorities  think,  the  remnants  of  the 
vast  glaciers  that  once  covered  this  whole  region  with  their 
heavy  and  slowly-moving  icy  cap. 

On  the  Tallac  Range  the  snow  fell  heavily  toward  Desola- 
tion Valley,  but  also  on  the  steep  and  precipitous  slopes  that 
faced  the  north.  So  also  with  the  Angora  Range.  Its  west- 
ern exposure,  however,  is  of  a  fairly  gentle  slope,  so  that  the 
snow  was  blown  over  to  the  eastern  side,  where  there  are 
several  precipitous  cirques  of  stupendous  size  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  accumulated  and  accumulating  snow. 

Now  let  us,  in  imagination,  ascend  in  a  balloon  over  this 


GLACIAL  HISTORY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      85 

region  and  hover  there,  seeking  to  reconstruct,  by  mental 
images,  the  appearance  it  must  have  assumed  and  the  action 
that  took  place  in  the  ages  long  ago. 

Snow,  thirty,  fifty,  one  hundred  or  more  feet  deep  lay,  on 
the  level,  and  on  the  mountain  slopes  or  in  precipitous  cirques 
twice,  thrice,  or  ten  times  those  depths.  Snow  thus  packed 
together  soon  changes  its  character.  From  the  light  airy 
flake,  it  becomes,  in  masses,  what  the  geologists  term  neve. 
This  is  a  granular  snow,  intermediate  between  snow  and  ice. 
A  little  lower  down  this  neve  is  converted  into  true  glacial 
ice-beds,  which  grow  longer,  broader,  deeper  and  thicker  as 
the  neve  presses  down  from  above. 

Lay  minds  conceive  of  these  great  ice-beds  of  transformed 
snow  as  inert,  immovable  bodies.  They  think  the  snow  lies 
upon  the  surface  of  the  rocks  or  earth.  The  scientific  ob- 
server knows  better.  By  the  very  inertia  of  its  own  vast  and 
almost  inconceivable  weight  the  glacier  is  compelled  to  move. 
Imagine  the  millions  of  millions  of  tons  of  ice  of  these  slop- 
ing masses,  pressing  down  upon  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
tons  of  ice  that  lie  below.  Slowly  the  mass  begins  to  move. 
But  all  parts  of  it  do  not  move  with  equal  velocity.  The  cen- 
ter travels  quicker  than  the  margins,  and  the  velocity  of  the 
surface  is  greater  than  that  of  the  bottom.  Naturally  the 
velocity  increases  with  the  slope,  and  when  the  ice  begins  to 
soften  in  the  summer  time  its  rate  of  motion  is  increased. 

But  not  only  does  the  ice  move.  There  have  been  other 
forces  set  in  motion  as  well  as  that  of  the  ice.  The  fierce 
attacks  of  the  storms,  the  insidious  forces  of  frost,  of  expan- 
sion and  contraction,  of  lightning,  etc.,  have  shattered  and 
loosened  vast  masses  of  the  mountain  summits.  Some  of  these 
have  weathered  into  toppling  masses,  which  required  only  a 
heavy  wind  or  slight  contractions  to  send  them  from  their 
uncertain  bases  onto  the  snow  or  ice  beneath.  And  the  other 
causes  mentioned  all  had  their  influences  in  breaking  up  the 


86      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

peaks  and  ridges  and  depositing  great  jagged  bowlders  of  rock 
in  the  slowly-moving  glaciers. 

Little  by  little  these  masses  of  rock  worked  their  way  down 
lower  into  the  ice-bed.  Sometime  they  must  reach  the  bottom, 
yet,  though  they  rest  upon  granite,  and  granite  would  cleave 
to  granite,  the  irresistible  pressure  from  above  forces  the  ice 
and  rock  masses  forward.  Thus  the  sharp-edged  blocks  of 
granite  become  the  blades  in  the  tools  that  are  to  help  cut  out 
the  contours  of  a  world's  surface.  In  other  words  the  mass 
of  glacial  ice  is  the  grooving  or  smoothing  plane,  and  the 
granite  blocks,  aided  by  the  ice,  become  the  many  and  diverse 
blades  in  this  vast  and  irresistible  tool.  Some  cut  deep  and 
square,  others  with  fiutings  and  bevelings,  or  curves,  but  each 
helps  in  the  great  work  of  planing  off,  in  some  way,  the 
rocky  masses  over  which  they  move.  Hence  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  grooving  and  marking,  the  fluting  and  beveling,  the 
planing  and  smoothing  processes  of  the  ice  are  materially  aided 
and  abetted  by  the  very  hardness  and  weight  of  the  granite 
and  other  rocks  it  carries  with  it. 

Now  let  Joseph  LeConte  take  up  the  theme  and  give  us 
of  the  rich  treasure-store  of  his  knowledge  and  observation. 
In  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts,  Third  Series, 
for  1875,  he  discussed  the  very  field  w^e  are  now  interested  in, 
and  his  fascinating  and  illuminating  explanations  render  the 
subject  perfectly  clear.     Said  he: 

Last  summer  I  had  again  an  opportunity  of  examining  the 
pathways  of  some  of  the  ancient  glaciers  of  the  Sierra.  One 
of  the  grandest  of  these  is  what  I  call  the  Lake  Valley 
Glacier.^  Taking  its  rise  in  snow  fountains  among  the  high 
peaks  in  the  neighborhood  of  Silver  Mountain,  this  great 
glacier  flowed  northward  down  Lake  Valley,  and,  gathering 
tributaries  from  the  summit  ridges  on  either  side  of  the  val- 

1  This  Is  the  name  given  by  Dr.  LeConte  to  the  Basin  in  which 
Lake  Tahoe  rests  and  including  the  meadow  lands  above  Tallac. 


sxow  I'.AXK,  dksola'hox  wm.t.kn'.  XI-:. \r  lakk  taiioi-: 


s.4**^, 


^r-^ 


1f:k    f 


%i 


li^ 


^;r''^---v 


^^J-ht^}}^ 


(;rass  i.ake,  near  c.lex  alpixe  springs 


GLACIAL  HISTORY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      87 

ley,  but  especially  from  the  higher  western  summits,  it  filled 
the  basin  of  Lake  Tahoe,  forming  a  great  "  mer  de  glace," 
50  miles  long,  15  miles  wide,  and  at  least  2000  feet  deep, 
and  finally  escaped  northeastward  to  the  plains.  The  outlets 
of  this  great  "  mer  de  glace  "  are  yet  imperfectly  known.  A 
part  of  the  ice  certainly  escaped  by  Truckee  Canyon  (the 
present  outlet  of  the  Lake) ;  a  part  probably  went  over  the 
northeastern  margin  of  the  basin.  My  studies  during  the 
summer  were  confined  to  some  of  the  larger  tributaries  of  this 
great  glacier. 

Truckee  Cany&n  and  Donner  Lake  Glaciers.  I  have  said 
that  one  of  the  outlets  of  the  great  "  mer  de  glace  "  was  by 
the  Truckee  River  Canyon.  The  stage  road  to  Lake  Tahoe 
runs  in  this  canyon  for  fifteen  miles.  In  most  parts  of  the 
canyon  the  rocks  are  volcanic  and  crumbling,  and  therefore 
ill  adapted  to  retain  glacial  marks;  yet  in  some  places  where 
the  rock  is  harder  these  marks  are  unmistakable.  On  my 
way  to  and  from  Lake  Tahoe,  I  observed  that  the  Truckee 
Canyon  glacier  was  joined  at  the  town  of  Truckee  by  a  short 
but  powerful  tributary,  which,  taking  its  rise  in  an  immense 
rocky  amphitheater  surrounding  the  head  of  Donner  Lake, 
flowed  eastward.  Donner  Lake,  which  occupies  the  lower 
portion  of  this  amphitheater,  was  evidently  formed  by  the 
down-flowing  of  the  ice  from  the  steep  slopes  of  the  upper 
portion  near  the  summit.  The  stage  road  from  Truckee 
to  the  summit  runs  along  the  base  of  a  moraine  close  by  the 
margin  of  the  lake  on  one  side,  while  on  the  other  side, 
along  the  apparently  almost  perpendicular  rocky  face  of  the 
amphitheater,  1000  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  lake,  the 
Central  Pacific  Railroad  winds  its  fearful  way  to  the  same 
place.  In  the  upper  portion  of  this  amphitheater  large 
patches  of  snow  still  remain  unmelted  during  the  summer. 

My  examination  of  these  two  glaciers,  however,  was  very 
cursory.  I  hasten  on,  therefore,  to  others  which  I  traced 
more  carefully. 

Lake  Tahoe  lies  countersunk  on  the  very  top  of  the  Sierra. 
This  great  range  is  here  divided  into  two  summit  ridges,  be- 
tween which  lies  a  trough  50  miles  long,  20  miles  wide, 
and  3000  to  3500  feet  deep.  This  trough  is  Lake  Valley. 
Its  lower   half   is  filled   with  the  waters  of  Lake  Tahoe. 


88      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

The  area  of  this  Lake  is  about  250  square  miles,  its  depth 
1640  feet,  and  its  altitude  6200  feet.  It  is  certain  that  dur- 
ing the  fullness  of  glacial  times  this  trough  was  a  great 
"  mer  de  glace,"  receiving  tributaries  from  all  directions 
except  the  north.  But  as  the  Glacial  Period  waned  —  as 
the  great  "  mer  de  glace  "  dwindled  and  melted  away,  and 
the  lake  basin  became  occupied  by  water  instead,  the  tribu- 
taries still  remained  as  separate  glaciers  flowing  into  the 
Lake.  The  tracks  of  these  lingering  small  glaciers  are  far 
more  easily  traced  and  their  records  more  easily  read,  than 
those  of  the  greater  but  more  ancient  glacier  of  which  they 
were  once  but  the  tributaries. 

Of  the  two  summit  ridges  mentioned  above  the  western 
is  the  higher.  It  bears  the  most  snow  now,  and  in  glacial 
times  gave  origin  to  the  grandest  glaciers.  Again:  the 
peaks  on  both  these  summits  rise  higher  and  higher  as  we 
go  toward  the  upper  or  southern  end  of  the  Lake.  Hence 
the  largest  glaciers  ran  into  the  Lake  at  its  southwestern  end. 
And,  since  the  mountain  slopes  here  are  toward  the  north- 
east and  therefore  the  shadiest  and  coolest,  here  also  the 
glaciers  have  had  the  greatest  vitality  and  lived  the  longest, 
and  have,  therefore,  left  the  plainest  records.  Doubtless, 
careful  examination  would  discover  the  pathways  of  glaciers 
running  into  the  Lake  from  the  eastern  summit  also;  but  I 
failed  to  detect  any  very  clear  traces  of  such,  either  on  the 
eastern  or  on  the  northern  portion  of  the  western  side  of 
the  Lake;  while  between  the  southwestern  end  and  Sugar 
Pine  Point,  a  distance  of  only  eight  or  ten  miles,  I  saw  dis- 
tinctly the  pathways  of  five  or  six.  North  of  Sugar  Pine 
Point  there  are  also  several.  They  are  all  marked  by  mo- 
raine ridges  running  down  from  the  summits  and  project- 
ing as  points  into  the  Lake.  The  pathways  of  three  of  these 
glaciers  I  studied  somewhat  carefully,  and  after  a  few  pre- 
liminary remarks,  will  describe  in  some  detail. 

Mountains  are  the  culminating  points  of  the  scenic 
grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  earth.  They  are  so,  because 
they  are  also  the  culminating  points  of  all  geological  agen- 
cies—  igneous  agencies  in  mountain  formation,  aqueous  ., 
agencies  in  mountain  sculpture.  Now,  I  have  already  said 
that  the  mountain  peaks  which  stand  above  the  Lake  on      " 


GLACIAL  HISTORY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      89 

every  side  are  highest  at  the  southwestern  end,  where  they 
rise  to  the  altitude  of  3000  feet  above  the  lake  surface,  or 
between  9000  and  10,000  feet  above  the  sea.  Here,  there- 
fore, ran  in  the  greatest  glaciers;  here  we  find  the  pro- 
foundest  glacial  sculpturings ;  and  here  also  are  clustered  all 
the  finest  beauties  of  this  the  most  beautiful  of  mountain 
lakes.  I  need  only  name  Mount  Tallac,  Fallen  Leaf  Lake, 
Cascade  Lake,  and  Emerald  Bay,  all  within  three  or  four 
miles  of  each  other  and  of  the  Tallac  House.  These  three 
exquisite  little  lakes  (for  Emerald  Bay  is  also  almost  a  lake), 
nestled  closely  against  the  loftiest  peaks  of  the  western  sum- 
mit ridge,  are  all  perfect  examples  of  glacial  lakes. 

South  of  Lake  Tahoe,  Lake  Valley  extends  for  fifteen 
miles  as  a  plain,  gently  rising  southward.  At  its  lower  end 
it  is  but  a  few  feet  above  the  lake  surface,  covered  with 
glacial  drift  modified  by  water,  and  diversified,  especially 
on  its  western  side,  by  debris  ridges,  the  moraines  of  glaciers 
which  continued  to  flow  into  the  valley  or  into  the  Lake  long 
after  the  main  glacier,  of  which  they  were  once  tributaries, 
had  dried  up.  On  approaching  the  south  end  of  the  Lake  by 
steamer,  I  had  observed  these  long  ridges,  divined  their 
meaning,  and  determined  on  a  closer  acquaintance.  While 
staying  at  the  Tallac  House  I  repeatedly  visited  them  and 
explored  the  canyons  down  which  their  materials  were 
brought.     I  proceed  to  describe  them. 

Fallen  Leaf  Lake  Glacier.  Fallen  Leaf  Lake  lies  on  the 
plain  of  Lake  Valley,  about  one  and  a  half  miles  from  Lake 
Tahoe,  its  surface  but  a  few  feet  above  the  level  of  the  lat- 
ter Lake  ^ ;  but  its  bottom  far,  probably  several  hundred  feet, 
below  that  level.  It  is  about  three  to  three  and  one-half 
miles  long  and  one  and  one-fourth  miles  wide.  From  its 
upper  end  runs  a  canyon  bordered  on  either  side  by  the 
highest  peaks  in  this  region.  The  rocky  walls  of  this  can- 
yon terminate  on  the  east  side  at  the  head  of  the  lake,  but 
on  the  west  side,  a  little  farther  down.  The  lake  is  bor- 
dered on  each  side  by  an  admirably  marked  debris  ridge 
(moraine)  three  hundred  feet  high,  four  miles  long,  and  one 
and  one-half  to  tvvo  miles  apart.     These  moraines  may  be 

1  Professor  Price  informs  me  there  is  a  diflference  of  eighty  feet 
between  the  level  of  Lake  Tahoe  and  Fallen  Leaf  Lake. 


go      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

traced  back  to  the  termination  of  the  rocky  ridges  which 
bound  the  canyon.  On  one  side  the  moraine  lies  wholly  on 
the  plain;  on  the  other  side  its  upper  part  lies  against  the 
slope  of  Mount  Tallac.  Near  the  lower  end  of  the  lake  a 
somewhat  obscure  branch  ridge  comes  off  from  each  main 
ridge,  and  curving  around  it  forms  an  imperfect  terminal 
moraine  through  which  the  outlet  of  the  lake  breaks  its  way. 

On  ascending  the  canyon  the  glaciation  is  very  conspicu- 
ous, and  becomes  more  and  more  beautiful  at  every  step. 
From  Glen  Alpine  Springs  upward  it  is  the  most  perfect  I 
have  ever  seen.  In  some  places  the  white  rocky  bottom  of 
the  canyon,  for  many  miles  in  extent,  is  smooth  and  polished 
and  gently  undulating,  like  the  surface  of  a  glassy  but  bil- 
lowy sea.  The  glaciation  is  distinct  also  up  the  sides  of 
the  canyon  icxx)  feet  above  its  floor. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  a  glacier  once  came 
down  this  canyon  filling  it  looo  feet  deep,  scooped  out  Fallen 
Leaf  Lake  just  where  it  struck  the  plain  and  changed  its 
angle  of  slope,  and  pushed  its  snout  four  miles  out  on  the 
level  plain,  nearly  to  the  present  shores  of  Lake  Tahoe, 
dropping  its  debris  on  either  side  and  thus  forming  a  bed 
for  itself.  In  its  subsequent  retreat  it  seems  to  have  rested 
its  snout  some  time  at  the  lower  end  of  Fallen  Leaf  Lake, 
and  accumulated   there  an   imperfect  terminal  moraine. 

Cascade  Lake  Glacier.  Cascade  Lake,  like  Fallen  Leaf 
Lake,  is  about  one  and  one-half  miles  from  Lake  Tahoe, 
but,  unlike  Fallen  Leaf  Lake,  its  discharge  creek  has  consid- 
erable fall,  and  the  lake  surface  is,  therefore,  probably  lOO 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  greater  lake.  On  either  side  of 
this  creek,  from  the  very  border  of  Lake  Tahoe,  runs  a 
moraine  ridge  up  to  the  lake,  and  thence  along  each  side 
of  the  lake  up  to  the  rocky  points  which  terminate  the  true 
mountain  canyon  above  the  head  of  the  lake.  I  have  never 
anywhere  seen  more  perfectly  defined  moraines.  I  climbed 
over  the  larger  western  moraine  and  found  that  it  is  partly 
merged  into  the  eastern  moraine  of  Emerald  Bay  to  form 
a  medial  at  least  300  feet  high,  and  of  great  breadth.  From 
the  surface  of  the  little  lake  the  curving  branches  of  the 
main  moraine,  meeting  below  the  lake  to  form  a  terminal 
moraine,  are  very  distinct.     At  the  head  of  the  lake  there 


GLACIAL  HISTORY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      91 

is  a  perpendicular  cliff  over  which  the  river  precipitates  it- 
self, forming  a  very  pretty  cascade  of  100  feet  or  more.  On 
ascending  the  canyon  above  the  head  of  the  lake,  for  several 
miles,  I  found,  everywhere,  over  the  lip  of  the  precipice,  over 
the  whole  floor  of  the  canyon,  and  up  the  sides  lOOO  feet  or 
more,  the  most  perfect  glaciation. 

There  cannot,  therefore,  be  the  slightest  doubt  that  this 
also  is  the  pathway  of  a  glacier  which  once  ran  into  Lake 
Tahoe.  After  coming  down  its  steep  rocky  bed,  this  gla- 
cier precipitated  itself  over  the  cliff,  scooped  out  the  lake  at 
its  foot,  and  then  ran  on  until  it  bathed  its  snout  in  the 
waters  of  Lake  Tahoe,  and  probably  formed  icebergs  there. 
In  its  subsequent  retreat  it  seems  to  have  dropped  more 
debris  in  its  path  and  formed  a  more  perfect  terminal  mo- 
raine than  did  Fallen  Leaf  Glacier. 

Emerald  Bay  Glacier.  All  that  I  have  said  of  Fallen 
Leaf  Lake  and  Cascade  Lake  apply,  almost  word  for  word, 
to  Emerald  Bay.  This  beautiful  bay,  almost  a  lake,  has 
also  been  formed  by  a  glacier.  It  also  is  bounded  on  either 
side  by  moraines,  which  run  down  to  and  even  project  into 
Lake  Tahoe,  and  may  be  traced  up  to  the  rocky  points  which 
form  the  mouth  of  the  canyon  at  the  head  of  the  bay.  Its 
eastern  moraine,  as  already  stated,  is  partly  merged  into  the 
western  moraine  of  Cascade  Lake,  to  form  a  huge  medial 
moraine.  Its  western  moraine  lies  partly  against  a  rocky 
ridge  which  runs  down  to  Lake  Tahoe  to  form  Rubicon 
Point.  At  the  head  of  the  bay,  as  at  the  head  of  Cascade 
Lake,  there  is  a  cliff  about  100  feet  high,  over  which  the 
river  precipitates  itself  and  forms  a  beautiful  cascade.  Over 
the  lip  of  this  cliff,  and  in  the  bed  of  the  canyon  above,  and 
up  the  sides  of  the  cliff-like  walls,  lOOO  feet  or  more,  the 
most  perfect  glaciation  is  found.  The  only  difference  be- 
tween this  glacier  and  the  two  preceding  is,  that  it  ran  more 
deeply  into  the  main  lake  and  the  deposits  dropped  in  its 
retreat  did  not  rise  high  enough  to  cut  off  its  little  rock 
basin  from  that  lake,  but  exists  now  only  as  a  shallow  bar 
at  the  mouth  of  the  bay.  This  bar  consists  of  true  moraine 
matter,  i.e.,  intermingled  bowlders  and  sand,  which  may  be 
examined  through  the  exquisitely  transparent  water  almost 
as  perfectly  as  if  no  water  were  present. 


92      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

All  that  I  have  described  separately  and  in  detail,  and 
much  more,  may  be  taken  in  at  one  view  from  the  top  of 
Mount  Tallac.  From  this  peak  nearly  the  whole  course 
of  these  three  glaciers,  their  fountain  amphitheaters,  their 
canyon  beds,  and  their  lakes  enclosed  between  their  moraine 
arms,  may  be  seen  at  once.  The  view  from  this  peak  is 
certainly  one  of  the  finest  that  I  have  ever  seen.  Less 
grand  and  diversified  in  mountain  forms  than  many  from 
peaks  above  the  Yosemite,  it  has  added  beauty  of  extensive 
water  surface,  and  the  added  interest  of  several  glacial 
pathways  in  a  limited  space.  The  observer  sits  on  the  very 
edge  of  the  fountain  amphitheaters  still  holding  large 
masses  of  snow;  immediately  below,  almost  at  his  feet,  lie 
glistening,  gem-like,  in  dark  rocky  setting,  the  three  exquis- 
ite little  lakes;  on  either  side  of  these,  embracing  and  pro- 
tecting them,  stretch  out  the  moraine  arms,  reaching  toward 
and  directing  the  eye  to  the  great  Lake,  which  lies,  map-like, 
with  all  its  sinuous  outlines  perfectly  distinct,  even  to  its 
extreme  northern  end,  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  away. 
As  the  eye  sweeps  again  up  the  canyon-beds,  little  lakes, 
glacier  scooped  rock  basins,  filled  with  ice-cold  water,  flash 
in  the  sunlight  on  every  side.  Twelve  or  fifteen  of  these 
may  be  seen. 

From  appropriate  positions  on  the  surface  of  Lake  Tahoe, 
also,  all  the  moraine  ridges  are  beautifully  seen  at  once,  but 
the  glacial  lakes  and  the  canyon-beds,  of  course,  cannot  be 
seen. 

There  are  several  questions  of  a  general  nature  suggested 
by  my  examination  of  these  three  glacial  pathways,  which 
I  have  thought  best  to  consider  separately. 

a.  Evidences  of  the  existence  of  the  Great  Lake  Valley 
Glacier.  On  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Tahoe,  and  especially 
at  the  northern  or  lower  end  of  Fallen  Leaf  Lake,  I  found 
many  pebbles  and  some  large  bowlders  of  a  beautiful  striped 
agate-like  slate.  The  stripes  consisted  of  alternate  bands  of 
black  and  translucent  white,  the  latter  weathering  into  milk- 
white,  or  yellowish,  or  reddish.  It  was  perfectly  evident 
that  these  fragments  were  brought  down  from  the  canyon 
above  Fallen  Leaf  Lake,  On  ascending  this  canyon  I 
easily  found  the  parent  rock  of  these  pebbles  and  bowlders. 


GLACIAL  HISTORY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      93 

It  is  a  powerful  outcropping  ledge  of  beautifully  striped 
siliceous  slate,  full  of  fissures  and  joints,  and  easily  broken 
into  blocks  of  all  sizes,  crossing  the  canyon  about  a  half  mile 
above  the  lake.  This  rock  is  so  peculiar  and  so  easily 
identified  that  its  fragments  become  an  admirable  index  of 
the  extent  of  the  glacial  transportation.  I  have,  myself, 
traced  these  pebbles  only  a  little  way  along  the  western 
shores  of  the  great  Lake,  as  my  observations  were  principally 
confined  to  this  part;  but  I  learn  from  my  brother.  Profes- 
sor John  LeConte,  and  from  Mr  John  Muir,  both  of 
whom  have  examined  the  pebbles  I  have  brought  home,  that 
precisely  similar  fragments  are  found  in  great  abundance 
all  along  the  western  shore  from  Sugar  Pine  Point  north- 
ward, and  especially  on  the  extreme  northwestern  shore 
nearly  thirty  miles  from  their  source.  I  have  visited  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  Lake  somewhat  more  extensively  than 
the  western,  and  nowhere  did  I  see  similar  pebbles.  Mr. 
Muir,  who  has  walked  around  the  Lake,  tells  me  that  they 
do  not  occur  on  the  eastern  shore.  We  have,  then,  in  the 
distribution  of  these  pebbles,  demonstrative  evidence  of  the 
fact  that  Fallen  Leaf  Lake  glacier  was  once  a  tributary  of 
a  much  greater  glacier  which  filled  Lake  Tahoe. 

The  only  other  agency  to  which  we  could  attribute  this 
transportation  is  that  of  shore  ice  and  icebergs,  which  prob- 
ably did  once  exist  on  Lake  Tahoe;  but  the  limitation  of 
the  pebbles  to  the  western,  and  especially  the  northwestern 
shores,  is  in  exact  accordance  with  the  laws  of  glacial  trans- 
portation, but  contrary  to  those  of  floating  ice  transporta- 
tion —  for  lake  ice  is  carried  only  by  winds,  and  would, 
therefore,   deposit  equally  on  all  shores. 

Again:  I  think  I  find  additional  evidence  of  a  Lake  Ta- 
hoe "  mer  de  glace  "  in  the  contrasted  character  of  the  nor- 
thern and  southern  shores  of  this  Lake. 

All  the  little  glacial  lakes  described  above  are  deep  at  the 
upper  end  and  shallow  at  the  lower  end.  Further,  all  of 
them  have  a  sand  beach  and  a  sand  flat  at  the  upper  end, 
and  great  bowlders  thickly  scattered  in  the  shallow  water, 
and  along  the  shore  at  the  lower  end.  These  facts  are 
easily  explained,  if  we  remember  that  while  the  glacial 
scooping    was    principally    at    the    upper    end,    the    glacial 


94      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

droppings  were  principally  at  the  lower  end.  And  further: 
that  while  the  glacial  deposit  was  principally  at  the  lower 
end,  the  river  deposit,  since  the  glacial  epoch,  has  been 
wholly  at  the  upper  end. 

Now  the  great  Lake,  also,  has  a  similar  structure.  It  also 
has  a  beautiful  sand  and  gravel  beach  all  along  its  upper 
shore,  and  a  sand  flat  extending  above  it;  while  at  its  lower, 
or  northern  end,  thickly  strewed  in  the  shallow  water,  and 
along  the  shore  line,  and  some  distance  above  the  shore  line, 
are  found  in  great  abundance  bowlders  of  enormous  size. 
May  we  not  conclude  that  similar  effects  have  been  pro- 
duced by  similar  causes  —  that  these  huge  bowlders  were 
dropped  by  the  great  glacier  at  its  lower  end?  Similar 
bowlders  are  also  found  along  the  northern  portion  of  the 
eastern  shore,  because  the  principal  flow  of  the  ice-current 
was  from  the  southwest,  and  in  the  fulness  of  glacial  times 
the  principal  exit  was  over  the  northeastern  lip  of  the  basin. 

b.  Origin  of  Lake  Tahoe.  That  Lake  Tahoe  was  once 
wholly  occupied  by  ice,  I  think,  is  certain ;  but  that  it  was 
scooped  out  by  the  Lake  Valley  glacier  is  perhaps  more 
doubtful.  All  other  Sierra  lakes  which  I  have  seen  cer- 
tainly owe  their  origin  to  glacial  agency.  Neither  do  I 
think  we  should  be  staggered  by  the  size  or  enormous  depth 
of  this  Lake.  Yet,  from  its  position,  it  may  be  a  plication- 
hollow,  or  a  trough  produced  by  the  formation  of  two  paral- 
lel mountain  ridges,  and  afterward  modified  by  glacial 
agency,  instead  of  a  pure  glacial-scooped  rock-basin.  In 
other  words,  Lake  Valley,  with  its  two  summit  ridges,  may 
be  regarded  as  a  phenomenon  belonging  to  the  order  of 
mountain-formation  and  not  to  the  order  of  mountain  sculp- 
ture. I  believe  an  examination  of  the  rocks  of  the  two  sum- 
mit ridges  would  probably  settle  this.  In  the  absence  of 
more  light  than  I  now  have,  I  will  not  hazard  an  opinion.^ 

c.  Passage  of  slate  into  granite.  From  the  commence- 
ment of  the  rocky  canyon  at  the  head  of  Fallen  Leaf  Lake, 
and  up  for  about  two  miles,  the  canyon  walls  and  bed  are 
composed  of  slate.  The  slate,  however,  becomes  more  and 
more  metamorphic  as  we  go  up,  until  it  passes  into  what 

1  This  question  practically  has  been  settled  by  Mr.  Lindgren, 
and  his  conclusions  are  given  in  an  earlier  chapter. 


GLACIAL  HISTORY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      95 

much  resembles  trap.  In  some  places  it  looks  like  diorite 
and  in  others  like  porphyry.  I  saw  no  evidence,  however,  of 
any  outburst.  This  latter  rock  passes  somewhat  more 
rapidly  into  granite  at  Glen  Alpine  Springs.  From  this 
point  the  canyon  bed  and  lower  walls  are  granite,  but  the 
highest  peaks  are  still  a  dark,  splintery,  metamorphic  slate. 
The  glacial  erosion  has  here  cut  through  the  slate  and  bit- 
ten deep  into  the  underlying  granite.  The  passage  from 
slate  through  porphyritic  diorite  into  granite  may,  I  think, 
be  best  explained  by  the  increasing  degree  of  metamorphism, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  change  of  the  original  sediments  at 
this  point;  granite  being  the  last  term  of  metamorphism 
of  pure  clays,  or  clayey  sandstones,  while  bedded  diorites  are 
similarly  formed  from  ferruginous  and  calcareous  slates. 
Just  at  the  junction  of  the  harder  and  tougher  granite  with 
the  softer  and  more  jointed  slates,  occur,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, cascades  in  the  river.  It  is  probable  that  the  cas- 
cades at  the  head  of  Cascade  Lake  and  Emerald  Bay  mark, 
also,  the  junction  of  the  granite  with  the  slate  —  only  the 
junction  here  is  covered  with  debris.  Just  at  the  same  junc- 
tion, in  Fallen  Leaf  Lake  Canyon  (Glen  Alpine  Basin), 
burst  out  the  waters  of  Glen  Alpine  Springs,  highly  charged 
with  bicarbonates  of  iron  and  soda. 

d.  Glacial  Deltas.  I  have  stated  that  the  moraines  of 
Cascade  Lake  and  Emerald  Bay  glaciers  run  down  to  the 
margin  of  Lake  Tahoe.  An  examination  of  this  portion  of 
the  Lake  shore  shows  that  they  run  far  into  the  Lake  —  that 
the  Lake  has  been  filled  in,  two  or  three  miles,  by  glacial 
debris.  On  the  eastern  margin  of  Lake  Tahoe,  the  water, 
close  along  the  shore,  is  comparatively  shallow,  the  shore 
rocky,  and  along  the  shore-line,  above  and  below  the  water, 
are  scattered  great  bowlders,  probably  dropped  by  the  main 
glacier.  But  on  the  west  margin  of  the  Lake  the  shore- 
line is  composed  wholly  of  moraine  matter,  the  water  very 
deep  close  to  shore,  and  the  bottom  composed  of  precisely 
similar  moraine  matter.  In  rowing  along  the  shore,  I 
found  that  the  exquisite  ultramarine  blue  of  the  deep  water 
extends  to  within  lOO  to  150  feet  of  the  shore-line.  At 
this  distance,  the  bottom  could  barely  be  seen.  Judging 
from   the   experiments   of  my  brother,   Professor  John   Le 


96      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Conte,  according  to  which  a  white  object  could  be  seen  at 
a  depth  of  115  feet,  I  suppose  the  depth  along  the  line  of 
junction  of  the  ultramarine  blue  and  the  emerald  green 
water  is  at  least  lOO  feet.  The  slope  of  the  bottom  is, 
therefore,  nearly,  or  quite,  45  degrees.  It  seems,  in  fact, 
a  direct  continuation  beneath  the  water  of  the  moraine 
slope.  The  materials,  also,  which  may  be  examined  with 
ease  through  the  wonderfully  transparent  water,  are  ex- 
actly the  same  as  that  composing  the  moraine,  viz:  earth, 
pebbles,  and  bowlders  of  all  sizes,  some  of  them  of  enormous 
dimensions.  It  seems  almost  certain  that  the  margin  of 
the  great  Lake  Valley  glacier,  and  of  the  Lake  itself  when 
this  glacier  had  melted  and  the  tributaries  first  began  /© 
run  into  the  Lake,  was  the  series  of  rocky  points  at  the  head 
of  the  three  little  lakes,  about  three  or  four  miles  back  from 
the  present  margin  of  the  main  Lake;  and  that  all  lakeward 
from  these  points  has  been  filled  in  and  made  land  by  the 
action  of  the  three  glaciers  described.  At  that  time  Rubicon 
Point  was  a  rocky  promontory,  projecting  far  into  the  Lake, 
beyond  M'hich  was  another  wide  bay,  which  has  been  simi- 
larly filled  in  by  debris  brought  down  by  glaciers  north  of 
this  point.  The  long  moraines  of  these  glaciers  are  plainly 
visible  from  the  Lake  surface ;  but  I  have  not  examined 
them.  Thus,  all  the  land,  for  three  or  four  miles  back 
from  the  Lake-margin,  both  north  and  south  of  Rubicon 
Point,  is  composed  of  confluent  glacial  deltas,  and  on  these 
deltas  the  moraine  ridges  are  the  natural  levees  of  these  ice- 
streams. 

e.  Parallel  Moraines.  The  moraines  described  above  are 
peculiar  and  almost  unique.  Nowhere,  except  about  Lake 
Tahoe  and  near  Lake  Mono,  have  I  seen  moraines  in  the 
form  of  parallel  ridges  lying  on  a  level  plain  and  terminat- 
ing abruptly  without  any  signs  of  transverse  connection 
{terminal  moraine)  at  the  lower  end.  Nor  have  I  been  able 
to  find  any  description  of  similar  moraines  in  other  coun- 
tries. They  are  not  terminal  moraines,  for  the  glacial  path- 
way is  open  below.  They  are  not  lateral  moraines,  for 
these  are  borne  on  the  glacier  itself,  or  else  stranded  on  the 
deep  canyon  sides.  Neither  do  I  think  moraines  of  this 
kind  would  be  formed  by  a  glacier  emerging  from  a  steep 


GLACIAL  HISTORY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      97 

narrow  canyon  and  running  out  on  a  level  plain;  for  in 
such  cases,  as  soon  as  the  confinement  of  the  bounding 
walls  is  removed,  the  ice  stream  spreads  out  into  an  ice  lake. 
It  does  so  as  naturally  and  necessarily  as  does  water  under 
similar  circumstances.  The  deposit  would  be  nearly  trans- 
verse to  the  direction  of  the  motion,  and,  therefore,  more 
or  less  crescentic.  There  must  be  something  peculiar  in 
the  conditions  under  which  these  parallel  ridges  were 
formed.     I  believe  the  conditions  were  as  described  below. 

We  have  already  given  reason  to  think  that  the  original 
margin  of  the  Lake,  in  glacial  times,  was  three  or  four 
miles  back  from  the  present  margin,  along  the  series  of  rocky 
points  against  which  the  ridges  abut;  and  that  all  the  flat 
plain  thence  to  the  present  margin  is  made  land.  If  so, 
then  it  is  evident  that  at  that  time  the  three  glaciers  de- 
scribed ran  far  out  into  the  Lake,  until  reaching  deep  water, 
where  they  formed  icebergs.  Under  these  conditions,  it  is 
plain  that  the  pressure  on  this,  the  subaqueous  portion  of 
the  glacial  bed,  would  be  small,  and  become  less  and  less 
until  it  becomes  nothing  at  the  point  where  the  icebergs 
float  away.  The  pressure  on  the  bed  being  small,  not 
enough  to  overcome  the  cohesion  of  ice,  there  would  be  no 
spreading.  A  glacier  running  down  a  steep  narrow  canyon 
and  out  into  the  deep  water,  and  forming  icebergs  at  its 
point,  would  maintain  its  slender,  tongue-like  form,  and 
drop  its  debris  on  each  side,  forming  parallel  ridges,  and 
would  not  form  a  terminal  moraine  because  the  materials 
not  dropped  previously  would  be  carried  off  by  icebergs. 
In  the  subsequent  retreat  of  such  a  glacier,  imperfect  ter- 
minal moraines  might  be  formed  higher  up,  where  the  water 
is  not  deep  enough  to  form  icebergs.  It  is  probable,  too, 
that  since  the  melting  of  the  great  "  mer  de  glace  "  and  the 
formation  of  the  Lake,  the  level  of  the  water  has  gone  down 
considerably,  by  the  deepening  of  the  Truckee  Canyon  out- 
let by  means  of  erosion.  Thus  not  only  did  the  glaciers 
retreat  from  the  Lake,  but  also  the  Lake  from  the  glaciers. 

As  already  stated,  similar  parallel  moraine  ridges  are 
formed  by  the  glaciers  which  ran  down  the  steep  eastern 
slope  of  the  Sierras,  and  out  on  the  level  plains  of  Mono. 
By  far  the  most  remarkable  are  those  formed  by  Bloody 


98      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Canyon  Glacier,  described  by  me  in  a  former  paper.  These 
moraines  are  six  or  seven  miles  long,  300  to  400  feet  high, 
and  the  parallel  crests  not  more  than  a  mile  asunder. 
There,  also,  as  at  Lake  Tahoe,  we  find  them  terminating 
abruptly  in  the  plain  without  any  sign  of  terminal  moraine. 
But  higher  up  there  are  small,  imperfect,  transverse  mo- 
raines, made  during  the  subsequent  retreat,  behind  which 
water  has  collected,  forming  lakes  and  marshes.  But  ob- 
serve: these  moraines  are  also  in  the  vicinity  of  a  great 
lake;  and  we  have  abundant  evidence,  in  very  distinct  ter- 
races described  by  Whitney  ^  and  observed  by  myself,  that 
in  glacial  times  the  water  stood  at  least  six  hundred  feet 
above  the  present  level.  In  fact,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  at  that  time  the  waters  of  Mono  Lake  (or  a  much 
greater  body  of  water  of  which  Mono  is  the  remnant) 
washed  against  the  bold  rocky  points  from  which  the  debris 
ridges  start.  The  glaciers  in  this  vicinity,  therefore,  must 
have  run  out  into  the  water  six  or  seven  miles,  and  doubt- 
less formed  icebergs  at  their  point,  and,  therefore,  formed 
there  no  terminal  moraine. 

That  the  glaciers  described  about  Lake  Tahoe  and  Lake 
Mono  ran  out  far  into  the  water  and  formed  icebergs  I 
think  is  quite  certain,  and  that  parallel  moraines  open  be- 
low are  characteristic  signs  of  such  conditions  I  also  think 
nearly  certain. 

/.  Glacial  Erosion.  My  observations  on  glacial  path- 
ways in  the  High  Sierra,  and  especially  about  Lake  Tahoe, 
have  greatly  modified  my  views  as  to  the  nature  of  glacial 
erosion.  Writers  on  this  subject  seem  to  regard  glacial  ero- 
sion as  mostly,  if  not  wholly,  a  grinding  and  scoring;  the 
debris  of  this  erosion  as  rock-meal;  the  great  bowlders, 
which  are  found  in  such  immense  quantities  in  the  terminal 
deposit,  as  derived  wholly  from  the  crumbling  cliffs  above 
the  glacial  surface ;  the  rounded  bowlders,  which  are  often 
the  most  numerous,  as  derived  in  precisely  the  same  way, 
only  they  have  been  engulfed  by  crevasses,  or  between  the 
sides  of  the  glacier  and  the  bounding  wall,  and  thus  car- 
ried between  the  moving  ice  and  its  rocky  bed,  as  between 

1  Geological  Survey  of  California,  Vol.  i,  451. 


GLACIAL  HISTORY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE      99 

the  upper  and  nether  millstone.  In  a  word,  all  bowlders, 
whether  angular  or  rounded,  are  supposed  to  owe  their 
origin  or  separation  and  shaping  to  glacial  agency. 

Now,  if  such  be  the  true  view  of  glacial  erosion,  evi- 
dently its  effect  in  mountain  sculpture  must  be  small  in- 
deed. Roches  moutonnees  are  recognized  by  all  as  the  most 
universal  and  characteristic  sign  of  a  glacial  bed.  Some- 
times these  beds  are  only  imperfect  moutonnees,  i.e.,  they 
are  composed  of  broken  angular  surface  with  only  the  points 
and  edges  planed  off.  Now,  moutonnees  surfaces  always, 
and  especially  angular  surfaces  with  only  points  and  edges 
beveled,  show  that  the  erosion  by  grinding  has  been  only 
very  superficial.  They  show  that  if  the  usual  view  of  gla- 
cial erosion  be  correct,  the  great  canyons,  so  far  from  be- 
ing formed,  were  only  very  slightly  modified  by  glacial 
agency.  But  I  am  quite  satisfied  from  my  own  observa- 
tions, that  this  is  not  the  only  nor  the  principal  mode  of 
glacial  erosion.  I  am  convinced  that  a  glacier,  by  its  enor- 
mous pressure  and  resistless  onward  movement,  is  constantly 
breaking  off  large  blocks  from  its  bed  and  bounding  walls. 
Its  erosion  is  not  only  a  grinding  and  scoring,  but  also  a 
crushing  and  breaking.  It  makes  by  its  erosion  not  only 
rock-meal,  but  also  large  rock-chips.  Thus,  a  glacier  is  con- 
stantly breaking  off  blocks  and  making  angular  sur- 
faces, and  then  grinding  off  the  angles  both  of  the  frag- 
ments and  the  bed,  and  thus  forming  rounded  bowlders  and 
moutonnees  surfaces.  Its  erosion  is  a  constant  process  of 
alternate  rough  hewing  and  planing.  If  the  rock  be  full  of 
fissures,  and  the  glacier  deep  and  heavy,  the  rough  hewing 
so  predominates  that  the  plane  has  only  time  to  touch  the 
corners  a  little  before  the  rock  is  again  broken  and  new 
angles  formed.  This  is  the  case  high  up  on  the  canyon 
walls,  at  the  head  of  Cascade  Lake  and  Emerald  Bay,  but 
also  in  the  canyon  beds  wherever  the  slate  is  approached. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  rock  is  very  hard  and  solid,  and 
the  glacier  be  not  very  deep  and  heavy,  the  planing  will 
predominate  over  the  rough  hewing,  and  a  smooth,  gentle 
billowy  surface  is  the  result.  This  is  the  case  in  the  hard 
granite  forming  the  beds  of  all  the  canyons  high  up,  but 


loo    THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

especially  high  up  the  canyon  of  Fallen  Leaf  Lake  (Glen 
Alpine  Basin),  where  the  canyon  spreads  out  and  extensive 
but  comparatively  thin  snow  sheets  have  been  at  work.  In 
some  cases  on  the  cliffs,  subsequent  disintegration  of  a  gla- 
cier-polished surface  may  have  given  the  appearance  of  an- 
gular surfaces  with  beveled  corners ;  but,  in  other  cases,  in 
the  bed  of  the  canyon,  and  on  elevated  level  places,  where 
large  loosened  blocks  could  not  be  removed  by  water  nor  by 
gravity,  I  observed  the  same  appearances,  under  conditions 
which  forbid  this  explanation.  Mr.  Muir,  also,  in  his 
Studies  in  the  Sierra,  gives  many  examples  of  undoubted 
rock-breaking  by  ancient  glaciers. 

Angular  blocks  are  mostly,  therefore,  the  ruins  of 
crumbling  cliffs,  borne  on  the  surface  of  the  glacier  and  de- 
posited at  its  foot.  Many  rounded  bowlders  also  have  a 
similar  origin,  having  found  their  way  to  the  bed  of  the 
glacier  through  crevasses,  or  along  the  sides  of  the  glacier. 
But  most  of  the  rounded  bowlders  in  the  terminal  deposit  of 
great  glaciers  are  fragments  torn  off  by  the  glacier  itself. 
The  proportion  of  rounded  bowlders  —  of  upper  or  air- 
formed  —  to  nether  or  glacier-formed  fragments,  depends  on 
the  depth  and  extent  of  the  ice-current.  In  the  case  of  the 
universal  ice-sheet  (ice-flood)  there  are,  of  course,  no  upper 
formed  or  angular  blocks  at  all  —  there  is  nothing  borne 
on  the  surface.  The  moraine,  therefore,  consists  wholly  of 
nether-formed  and  nether-borne  severely  triturated  ma- 
terials {moraine  profunde).  The  bowlders  are,  of  course, 
all  rounded.  This  is  one  extreme.  In  the  case  of  the  thin 
moving  ice-fields,  the  glacierets  which  still  linger  among  the 
highest  peaks  and  shadiest  hollows  of  the  Sierra,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  moraines  are  composed  wholly  of  angular  blocks. 
This  is  the  character  of  the  terminal  moraine  of  Mount 
Lyell  glacier.  These  glacierets  are  too  thin  and  feeble  and 
torpid  to  break  off  fragments  —  they  can  only  bear  away 
what  falls  on  them.  This  is  the  other  extreme.  But  in  the 
case  of  ordinary  glaciers  —  ice-streams  —  the  bowlders  of 
the  terminal  deposit  are  mixed ;  the  angular  or  upper-formed 
predominating  in  the  small  existing  glaciers  of  temperate 
climates,  but  the  rounded  or  nether-formed  greatly  pre- 
dominating in  the  grand  old  glaciers  of  which  we  have  been 


GLACIAL  HISTORY  OF  LAKE  TAHOE       loi 

speaking.  In  the  terminal  deposits  of  these,  especially  in 
the  materials  pushed  into  the  Lake,  it  is  somewhat  difficult 
to  find  a  bowlder  which  has  not  been  subjected  to  severe  at- 
trition. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  LESSER  LAKES  OF  THE  TAHOE  REGION   AND  HOW  THEY 
WERE  FORMED 

THIS  Is  not  to  be  a  description  of  the  scores  of  Glacial 
Lakes  found  in  the  Tahoe  region,  but  an  answer  to 
the  questions  so  often  asked  about  practically  all  of 
these  lakes,  as  to  their  origin  and  continuance. 

Rich  as  our  Sierras  are  in  treasures  none  are  more  precious 
than  these.  They  give  one  pleasing  surprises,  often  when  least 
expected.  For  while  the  tree-clusters,  the  mountain-peaks, 
and  the  glowing  snow-banks  throw  themselves  into  our  view 
by  their  elevated  positions,  the  retiring  lakes,  secluded,  mod- 
est, hide  their  beauty  from  us  until  we  happen  to  climb  up  to, 
or  above,  them. 

From  the  higher  summits  how  wonderfully  they  appear. 
Let  the  eye  follow  a  fruitful  branch  of  an  apple,  pear  or  peach. 
How  the  leaves,  the  stem,  the  fruit  occur,  in  sure  but  irregular 
order.  It  is  just  so  with  the  glacial  lakes  of  the  Sierras. 
They  are  the  fruit  of  the  streams  that  flow  from  the  glacial 
fountains.     They  lie  on  rude  and  unexpected  granite  shelves, 

—  as  Le  Conte  Lake;  under  the  shadow  of  towering  peaks, 

—  as  Gilmore  Lake ;  on  bald  glacier-gouged  and  polished 
tables, —  as  those  of  Desolation  Valley ;  embosomed  in  deep 
woods, —  as  Fallen  Leaf,  Heather  and  Cascade ;  in  the  rocky 
recesses  of  sloping  canyons, —  as  Susie,  Lucile  and  the  An- 
goras; hidden  in  secret  recesses  of  giant  granite  walls, — 
as  Eagle;  or  sprawling  in  the  open, —  as  Loon,  Spider,  etc. 

What  a  variety  of  sizes,  shapes  and  characteristics  they 
present.     There  are  no  two  alike,  yet  they  are  nearly  all 

102 


I 


THE  LESSER  LAKES  OF  TAHOE  REGION       103 

one  in  their  attractive  beauty,  in  the  purity  of  their  waters, 
and  in  the  glory,  majesty,  sublimity  and  beauty  mirrored 
on  their  placid  faces. 

In  poetic  fashion,  yet  with  scientific  accuracy,  John  Muir 
thus  describes  their  origin  in  his  Mountains  of  California, 
a  book  every  Tahoe  lover  should  possess: 

When  a  mountain  lake  is  born, —  when,  like  a  young  eye, 
it  first  opens  to  the  light, —  it  is  an  irregular,  expression- 
less crescent,  inclosed  in  banks  of  rock  and  ice, —  bare, 
glaciated  rock  on  the  lower  side,  the  rugged  snout  of  a 
glacier  on  the  upper.  In  this  condition  it  remains  for 
many  a  year,  until  at  length,  toward  the  end  of  some  aus- 
picious cluster  of  seasons,  the  glacier  recedes  beyond  the 
upper  margin  of  the  basin,  leaving  it  open  from  shore  to 
shore  for  the  first  time,  thousands  of  years  after  its  con- 
ception beneath  the  glacier  that  excavated  its  basin.  The 
landscape,  cold  and  bare,  is  Teflected  in  its  pure  depths ;  the 
winds  ruffle  its  glassy  surface,  and  the  sun  thrills  it  with 
throbbing  spangles,  while  its  waves  begin  to  lap  and  mur- 
mur around  its  leafless  shores, —  sun-spangles  during  the 
day  and  reflected  stars  at  night  its  only  flowers,  the  winds 
and  the  snow  its  only  visitors.  Meanwhile,  the  glacier 
continues  to  recede,  and  numerous  rills,  still  younger  than 
the  lake  itself,  bring  down  glacier-mud,  sand-grains,  and 
pebbles,  giving  rise  to  margin-rings  and  plats  of  soil.  To 
these  fresh  soil-beds  come  many  a  waiting  plant.  First,  a 
hardy  carex  with  arching  leaves  and  a  spike  of  brown  flow- 
ers; then,  as  the  seasons  grow  warmer,  and  the  soil-beds 
deeper  and  wider,  other  sedges  take  their  appointed  places, 
and  these  are  joined  by  blue  gentians,  daisies,  dodecatheons, 
violets,  honey-worts,  and  many  a  lowly  moss.  Shrubs  also 
hasten  in  time  to  the  new  gardens, —  kalmia  with  its  glossy 
leaves  and  purple  flowers,  the  arctic  willow,  making  soft 
woven  carpets,  together  with  the  healthy  bryanthus  and 
casiope,  the  fairest  and  dearest  of  them  all.  Insects  now 
enrich  the  air,  frogs  pipe  cheerily  in  the  shallows,  soon  fol- 
lowed by  the  ouzel,  which  is  the  first  bird  to  visit  a  glacier 
lake,  as  the  sedge  is  the  first  of  plants. 


I04     THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

So  the  young  lake  grows  in  beauty,  becoming  more  and 
more  humanly  lovable  from  century  to  century.  Groves  of 
aspen  spring  up,  and  hardy  pines,  and  the  hemlock  spruce, 
until  it  is  richly  overshadowed  and  embowered.  But  while 
its  shores  are  becoming  enriched,  the  soil-beds  creep  out  with 
incessant  growth,  contracting  its  area,  while  the  lighter  mud- 
particles  deposited  on  the  bottom  cause  it  to  grow  shal- 
lower, until  at  length  the  last  remnant  of  the  lake  vanishes, 
—  closed  forever  in  ripe  and  natural  old  age.  And  now  its 
feeding-stream  goes  winding  on  without  halting  through  the 
new  gardens  and  groves  that  have  taken  its  place. 

The  length  of  the  life  of  any  lake  depends  ordinarily 
upon  the  capacity  of  its  basin,  as  compared  with  the  carry- 
ing power  of  the  streams  that  flow  into  it,  the  character  of 
the  rocks  over  which  these  streams  flow,  and  the  relative 
position  of  the  lake  toward  other  lakes.  In  a  series  whose 
basins  lie  in  the  same  canyon,  and  are  fed  by  one  and  the 
same  main  stream,  the  uppermost  will,  of  course,  vanish 
first  unless  some  other  lake-filling  agent  comes  in  to  modify 
the  result;  because  at  first  it  receives  nearly  all  of  the  sedi- 
ments that  the  stream  brings  down,  only  the  finest  of  the 
mud-particles  being  carried  through  the  highest  of  the  series 
to  the  next  below.  Then  the  next  higher,  and  the  next 
would  be  successively  filled,  and  the  lowest  would  be  the 
last  to  vanish.  But  this  simplicity  as  to  duration  is  broken 
in  upon  in  various  ways,  chiefly  through  the  action  of  side- 
streams  that  enter  the  lower  lakes  direct.  For,  notwith- 
standing many  of  these  side  tributaries  are  quite  short,  and, 
during  late  summer,  feeble,  they  all  become  powerful  tor- 
rents in  spring-time  when  the  snow  is  melting,  and  carry  not 
only  sand  and  pine-needles,  but  large  trunks  and  bowlders 
tons  in  weight,  sweeping  them  down  their  steeply  in- 
clined channels  and  into  the  lake  basins  with  astounding 
energy.  Many  of  these  side  affluents  also  have  the  advan- 
tage of  access  to  the  main  lateral  moraines  of  the  vanished 
glacier  that  occupied  the  canyon,  and  upon  these  they  draw 
for  lake-filling  material,  while  the  main  trunk  stream  flows 
mostly  over  clean  glacier  pavements,  where  but  little  mo- 
raine matter  is  ever  left  for  them  to  carry.  Thus  a  small 
rapid    stream   with    abundance   of    loose   transportable   ma- 


TAMARACK  AND  ECHO  LAKES 


CASCADE  LAKE,  NEAR  THE  AUTOMOBILE  BOULEVARD    L\KE 

TAHOE 


MKMOKIAI.  (.ROSS  AT   DUNXliK   LAKL 


i 


THE  LESSER  LAKES  OF  TAHOE  REGION       105 

terial  within  its  reach  may  fill  up  an  extensive  basin  in  a 
few  centuries,  while  a  large  perennial  trunk  stream,  flow- 
ing over  clean,  enduring  pavements,  though  ordinarily  a 
hundred  times  larger,  may  not  fill  a  smaller  basin  in  thou- 
sands of  years. 

Many  striking  examples  of  these  successive  processes  may 
be  seen  in  the  Tahoe  region,  as,  for  instance,  Squaw  Valley, 
which  lies  between  the  spurs  of  Squaw  Peak  and  Granite 
Chief.  This  was  undoubtedly  scooped  out  by  a  glacier  that 
came  down  from  Squaw  Peak  and  Granite  Chief.  The 
course  of  the  ice-sheet  was  down  to  the  Truckee  River. 
When  the  glacier  began  to  shrink  it  left  its  terminal  moraine 
as  a  dam  between  the  basin  above  and  the  river  below. 
In  due  time,  as  the  glacier  finally  receded  to  a  mere  bank  of 
half-glacierized  snow  on  the  upper  portions  of  the  two  peaks, 
the  basin  filled  up  with  water  and  thus  formed  a  lake. 
Slowly  the  sand  and  rocky  debris  from  the  peaks  filled 
up  the  lake,  and  in  the  course  of  time  a  break  was  made 
in  the  moraine,  so  that  the  creek  flowed  over  or  through  it 
and  the  lake  ceased  to  exist,  while  the  meadow  came  into 
existence. 


CHAPTER  X 

DONNER    LAKE    AND   ITS   TRAGIC    HISTORY 

CLOSELY  allied  to  Lake  Tahoe  by  its  near  prox- 
imity, its  situation  on  the  Emigrant  Gap  automo- 
bile road  from  Sacramento  to  Tahoe,  and  that  it  is 
seen  from  Mt.  Rose,  Mt.  Watson,  and  many  Tahoe  peaks, 
is  Donner  Lake, —  lake  of  tragic  memories  in  the  early  day 
pioneer  history  of  this  region. 

It  was  in  1846  that  James  T.  Reed,  of  Springfield,  111., 
determined  to  move  to  California.  This  land  of  promise 
was  then  a  Mexican  province,  but  Reed  carefully  and 
thoroughly  had  considered  the  question  and  had  decided  that, 
for  his  family's  good,  it  was  well  to  emigrate.  He  induced 
two  other  Illinois  families  to  accompany  him,  those  of  George 
and  Jacob  Donner.  Thursday,  April  15th,  1846,  the  party 
started,  full  of  high  hopes  for  the  future.  The  story  of  how 
they  met  with  others  bound  for  California  or  Oregon,  at  In- 
dependence, Mo.,  journeyed  together  over  the  plains  and 
prairies  to  Fort  Hall,  where  Lansford  W.  Hastings,  either 
in  person  or  by  his  "  Open  Letter,"  led  part  of  the  band  to 
take  his  new  road,  which  ultimated  in  dire  tragedy,  is  well 
known. 

The  Oregon  division  of  the  divided  party  took  the  right- 
hand  trail,  while  the  other  took  the  left-hand  to  Fort 
Bridger.  It  is  the  experiences  of  this  latter  party  with  which 
we  are  concerned.  Misfortune  came  to  them  thick  and 
fast  from  this  time  on.  The  wagons  were  stalled  in  Weber 
Canyon  and  had  to  be  hauled  bodily  up  the  steep  cliffs  to  the 

106 


DONNER  LAKE  AND  ITS  HISTORY       107 

plateau  above;  some  of  their  stock  ran  away,  after  heart- 
breaking struggles  over  the  Salt  Lake  desert;  mirages  in- 
tensified their  burning  thirst  by  their  disappointing  lure; 
Indians  threatened  them,  and  finally,  to  add  despair  to  their 
wretchedness,  a  quarrel  arose  in  which  Mr.  Reed,  in  self- 
defence,  killed  one  of  the  drivers,  named  Snyder.  Reed  was 
banished  from  the  party  under  circumstances  of  unjustifiable 
severity  which  amounted  to  inhuman  cruelty,  and  his  wife 
and  helpless  children,  the  oldest  of  them,  Virginia,  only  twelve 
years  of  age,  had  to  take  the  rest  of  the  journey  without  the 
presence  of  their  natural  protector.  Food  supplies  began  to 
give  out,  the  snow  fell  earlier  than  usual  and  added  to  their 
difficulties,  and  before  they  reached  the  region  of  the  Truckee 
River  they  were  compelled  to  go  on  short  rations.  Then, 
under  suspicious  circumstances  one  of  the  party,  Wolfinger, 
was  lost,  and  though  his  wife  was  informed  that  he  had 
been  murdered  by  Indians,  there  was  always  a  doubt  in  the 
minds  of  some  as  to  whether  that  explanation  were  the  true 
one.  On  the  19th  of  October,  an  advance  guard  that  had 
gone  on  to  California  for  food,  returned,  bringing  seven  mules 
ladened  with  flour  and  jerked  beef.  The  story  of  this  trip 
I  have  recounted  more  fully  in  the  book  Heroes  of  Cali- 
fornia. Without  this  additional  food  the  party  never  could 
have  survived.  On  the  22nd  they  crossed  the  Truckee 
River  for  the  forty-ninth  time. 

Heavy  snow  now  began  to  intercept  their  weary  way. 
They  were  finally  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  an  abandoned 
cabin  near  the  shore  of  what  is  now  known  as  Donner  Lake, 
and  there,  under  circumstances  of  horror  and  terror  that  can 
never  fully  be  comprehended  and  appreciated,  the  devoted 
men,  women  and  children  were  imprisoned  in  the  snow  until 
the  first  relief  party  reached  them,  February  19th,  with 
scant  provisions,  brought  in  at  life's  peril  on  snowshoes.  A 
"  Forlorn   Hope "  had  tried  to  force  its  passage  over  the 


io8    THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

snowy  heights.  Fifteen  brave  men  and  women  determined 
to  see  if  they  could  not  win  their  way  over  and  send  back 
help.  Out  of  the  fifteen  seven  only  survived  and  reached  the 
Sacramento  Valley,  and  they  were  compelled  to  sustain  life 
by  eating  the  flesh  of  those  who  had  perished. 

The  second  relief  party  was  organized  by  Mr.  Reed, —  the 
banished  leader  —  and  thirty-one  of  the  party  were  still  in 
camp  at  Donner  Lake  when  he  arrived,  with  nine  stalwart 
men  to  help,  on  March  ist.  On  the  3rd  nine  of  them  left, 
with  seventeen  of  the  starving  emigrants,  but  they  were 
caught  in  a  fearful  snow-storm  as  they  crossed  the  summit, 
and  ten  miles  below  were  compelled  to  go  into  camp.  Their 
provisions  gave  out,  Mrs.  Graves  died,  leaving  an  emaciated 
babe  in  arms  and  three  other  children,  one  a  five-year-old, 
who  died  the  next  day.  Isaac  Donner  died  the  third  night. 
Reed  and  Greenwood,  carrying  Reed's  two  children,  Mattie 
and  James  Jr.,  with  one  of  the  survivors  who  could  walk, 
now  struggled  down  the  mountain  in  the  hope  that  they  could 
reach  help  to  go  back  and  finish  the  rescue  work.  These  met 
Mr.  Woodworth  who  organized  the  third  relief  party,  of 
seven  men,  who  returned  to  "  Starved  Camp,"  to  find  the 
survivors  begging  piteously  for  something  to  eat.  This  re- 
lief party  divided  into  two  parts  —  one  to  go  over  the  sum- 
mit to  give  help  to  the  needy  there,  the  other  to  get  the 
*'  Starved  Camp "  remnant  to  safety.  The  first  section 
succeeded  in  their  mission  of  mercy  and  a  few  days  later 
caught  up  with  the  other  section  from  Starved  Camp. 

Mr.  C.  F.  McGlashan,  formerly  editor  of  the  Truckee 
Republican,  has  written  a  graphic  account,  with  great  care 
and  desire  for  accuracy,  of  the  complete  expedition,  which 
gives  the  heart-rending  story  with  completeness,  and  I  ex- 
pect to  publish  ere  long  the  personal  story  of  Virginia  Reed 
Murphy,  who  is  still  alive,  one  of  the  few  survivors  of  the 
ill-fated  party. 


Tin;  sti:.\.mi-:k  at  tiii:  wiiakI'.  taiiok  ta\'kr.\.  lake  taiioe 


DUXXER  LAKE,  ON  THE  AUTOMUBILE  HIGHWAY  FROM 
SACRAMENTO  TO  TRUCKEE  AND  LAKE  TAHOE 


AUT(J.\lUl!ILIX(i   Al.OM.     ilH.    I'l'    M    Kl    ^m    1      lUI   «   KIIK    KI\KK. 
ON    ■nil-:   \\'AV     11.)    KAKl-.    I  AlloK 


DONNER  LAKE  AND  ITS  HISTORY       109 

Through  privations  and  hardships  untold  the  survivors 
were  ultimately  enabled  to  reach  Sutter's  Fort,  only  to  find 
the  most  vile  and  fearful  stories  set  in  circulation  about 
them.  Four  separate  relief  parties  vv^ere  sent  from  Cali- 
fornia, and  their  adventures  were  almost  as  tragic  as  those 
of  the  sufferers  they  sought  to  help.  Bret  Harte,  in  his 
Gabriel  Convoy,  has  told  much  —  though  in  the  exagger- 
ated and  unjust  form  the  stories  v^^ere  first  circulated  —  of 
the  Donner  tragedy,  and  it  has  been  made  the  subject  of 
much  newspaper  and  other  vi^riting  and   discussion. 

An  unusual  trip  that  can  be  taken  from  Tahoe  Tavern 
is  down  to  the  foot  of  Donner  Lake  and  then,  turning  to 
the  left,  follow  the  old  emigrant  and  stage-road.  It  has 
not  been  used  for  fifty  years,  but  it  is  full  of  interest. 
There  are  many  objects  that  remain  to  tell  of  its  fascinating 
history.  Over  it  came  many  who  afterwards  became  pio- 
neers in  hewing  out  this  new  land  from  the  raw  material  of 
which  lasting  commonwealths  are  made.  Turning  south  to 
Cold  Stream,  it  passes  by  Summit  Valley  on  to  Starved 
Camp.  The  stumps  of  the  trees  cut  down  by  the  unfor- 
tunate pioneers  are  still  standing. 

It  was  always  a  difficult  road  to  negotiate,  the  divide  be- 
tween Mt.  Lincoln  and  Anderson  Peak  being  over  7500 
feet  high.  But  those  heroes  of  1848-49  made  it,  triumph- 
ing over  every  barrier  and  winning  for  themselves  what 
Joaquin  Miller  so  poetically  has  accorded  them,  where  he 
declares  that  "  the  snow-clad  Sierras  are  their  everlasting 
monuments." 

This  road  is  now,  in  places,  almost  obliterated.  One 
section  for  three  miles  is  grown  up.  Trees  and  chaparral 
cover  it  and  hide  it  from  the  face  of  any  but  the  most  stu- 
diously observant.  When  the  road  that  takes  to  the  north 
of  Donner  Lake  was  built  in  1861-62  and  goes  directly  and 
on  an  easier  grade  by  Emigrant  Gap  to  Dutch  Flat,  this 


no    THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

road  by  Cold  Stream  was  totally  abandoned.  For  years 
the  county  road  officials  have  ignored  its  existence,  and  now 
it  is  as  if  it  never  had  been,  save  for  its  memories  and  the 
fragments  of  wagons,  broken  and  abandoned  in  the  fierce 
conflict  with  stern  Nature,  and  suggesting  the  heart-break 
and  struggle  the  effort  to  reach  California  caused  in  those 
early  days. 


CHAPTER  XI 

LAKE   TAHOE   AND   THE   TRUCKEE   RIVER 

AS  is  well  known,  the  Truckee  River  is  the  only  outlet 
to  Lake  Tahoe.  This  outlet  is  on  the  northwest  side 
of  the  Lake,  between  Tahoe  City  and  Tahoe  Tav- 
ern, and  is  now  entirely  controlled  by  the  concrete  dam  and 
head-gates  referred  to  in  the  chapter  on  "  Public  uses  of 
the  Water  of  Lake  Tahoe." 

When  Fremont  came  down  from  Oregon  in  1844,  he 
named  the  river  Salmon  Trout  River,  from  the  excellent 
fish  found  therein,  but  the  same  year,  according  to  Angel, 
in  his  History  of  Nevada,  a  party  of  twenty-three  men,  en- 
thused by  the  glowing  accounts  they  had  heard  of  Cali- 
fornia, left  Council  Bluffs,  May  20th,  crossed  the  plains 
in  safety,  and  reached  the  Humboldt  River.  Here  an  In- 
dian, named  Truckee,  presented  himself  to  them  and  of- 
fered to  become  their  guide.  After  questioning  him  closely, 
they  engaged  him,  and  as  they  progressed,  found  that  all 
his  statements  were  verified.  He  soon  became  a  great  favor- 
ite among  them,  and  when  they  reached  the  lower  crossing 
of  the  river  (now  Wadsworth),  they  were  so  pleased  by 
the  pure  water  and  the  abundance  of  the  fish  to  which  he 
directed  them,  that  they  named  the  stream  "  Truckee "  in 
his  honor. 

This  Capt.  Truckee  was  the  chief  of  the  Paiutis,  and  the 
father  of  Winnemucca  (sometimes  known  as  Poito),  and 
the  grandfather  of  Sarah  Winnemucca  Hopkins,  long  known 
in  Boston  and  other  eastern  cities,  where  she  lectured  un- 

iii 


112      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

der  the  patronage  of  Mrs.  Horace  Mann,  Mrs.  Ole  Bull, 
Miss  Longfellow,  and  other  prominent  women,  as  the 
Princess  Sallie.  When  I  first  went  to  Nevada,  over  thirty- 
three  years  ago,  I  soon  got  to  know  her  and  her  father,  Win- 
nemucca,  and  met  them  constantly. 

Sarah  always  claimed  that  Truckee  and  Fremont  were 
great  friends  and  that  it  was  the  Pathfinder  who  named  the 
river  after  her  grandfather,  but  nowhere  in  his  Report  of 
the  1843-44  Expedition  does  he  mention  Truckee,  and  he 
called  the  river  the  "  Salmon  Trout  River  " ;  and  this  name 
he  retained  both  in  the  report  and  map  published  in  his 
Memoirs  of  My  Life,  Vol.  I  only  of  which  was  issued  by 
Belford,  Clarke  and  Company,  of  Chicago,  in  1887. 

Hence  Sallie  is  undoubtedly  mistaken  in  this  regard. 
But  on  several  points  she  is  correct,  and  too  great  emphasis 
cannot  be  laid  upon  these  facts.  They  are,  I,  that  Truc- 
kee guided  several  emigrant  parties,  even  as  far  as  Sut- 
ter's Fort,  California  (where  Sacramento,  the  Capital  of 
the  State,  now  stands)  ;  H,  that  he  was  always  friendly, 
true  and  honest  in  his  dealings  with  the  whites;  HI,  that 
had  the  emigrants  and  settlers  in  Nevada  treated  him  as 
honestly  as  he  did  them  there  would  never  have  been  any 
conflicts  between  the  Paiutis  and  the  whites;  IV,  that 
when  the  latter  first  came  to  the  country  he  called  coun- 
cils of  his  people  and  bade  them  welcome  the  newcomers 
with  open  arms. 

He  died  just  as  the  wrongs  inflicted  upon  the  Paiutis 
were  making  them  desperate  and  resolved  on  war.  Though 
his  son,  Winnemucca,  is  well  known  never  openly  to  have 
waged  war  against  the  whites,  it  was  thoroughly  under- 
stood that  secretly  he  favored  it.  But  had  his  father  lived 
and  retained  his  health  and  power  there  is  little  doubt 
but  that  the  open  conflict  would  have  been  averted,  and 
many  precious  human  lives  on  both  sides  saved. 


LAKE  TAHOE  AND  TRUCKEE  RIVER       113 

The  Truckee  River  has  its  rise  in  Lake  Tahoe,  flows 
northward  and  breaks  through  the  Mount  Pluto  ridge  in 
a  narrow  canyon,  one  thousand  to  two  thousand  feet  in 
depth.  While  the  canyon  is  narrow  and  its  slopes,  especially 
on  the  east,  are  rocky  and  steep,  it  is  not  exactly  gorge-like, 
except  for  the  space  of  a  mile  or  so,  a  short  distance  below 
Tahoe.  For  twelve  miles  the  river  follows  a  northerly 
course,  and  it  is  then  joined  by  Donner  Creek  flowing  from 
Donner  Lake.  The  united  streams  then  turn  eastward  and 
take  a  course  across  the  northern  end  of  the  gravelly  flat  of 
Martis  Valley,  in  a  channel  two  hundred  to  two-hundred- 
fifty  feet  below  the  level  of  the  plain.  At  Boca  it  cuts 
through  the  eastern  range  with  a  canyon  one  thousand  to 
three  thousand  five  hundred  feet  in  depth  and  emerges  on 
the  plains  of  Nevada  between  Verdi  and  Reno.  It  re- 
turns again  to  the  north  below  Wadsworth,  having  run 
sixty-nine  miles  from  Donner  Creek,  and  then,  flowing  six- 
teen more  miles,  it  discharges  into  Pyramid  Lake.  At  Ta- 
hoe the  river  begins  at  an  elevation  of  6225  feet  above 
sea  level;  at  Pyramid  the  level  is  4890  feet,  thus  giving 
the  river  a  fall  of  1335   feet  in  ninety-seven  miles. 

The  Truckee  River  receives  a  number  of  large  tribu- 
taries; the  principal  ones  being  Little  Truckee  River  and 
Prosser  Creek,  the  former  heading  in  Webber  Lake,  the 
latter  in  the  main  range  of  the  Sierras,  most  of  its  sources 
lying  in  small  lakes  held  in  hollows  and  basins  excavated 
by  glaciers. 

Until  it  was  contaminated  by  the  refuse  of  civilization 
its  waters  were  pure  and  healthful,  but  legal  enactments 
have  been  necessary  to  protect  the  stream  from  sawdust  and 
other  pollutions. 

As  elsewhere  explained  the  Truckee  River  being  the 
only  outlet  of  Lake  Tahoe,  and  therefore  its  natural  outflow 
channel,  together  with  the  facts  that  its  origin  is  in  Cali- 


114      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

fornia  and  It  then  flows  into  Nevada,  and  that  part  of  Lake 
Tahoe  is  in  each  state,  has  helped  complicate  the  solution 
of  the  question  as  to  who  is  entitled  to  the  surplus  waters 
of  the  Lake.  This  is  discussed  somewhat  in  a  later  chap- 
ter devoted  to  the  subject. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  recall  that  in  1900  Mr.  A.  W. 
Von  Schmidt,  President  of  the  Lake  Tahoe  and  San  Fran- 
cisco Water  Works,  offered  to  sell  to  the  City  of  San  Fran- 
cisco certain  rights  to  the  water  of  Lake  Tahoe,  the  dam 
at  the  outlet,  contract  for  a  deed  to  two  and  a  half  acres 
of  land  on  which  the  outlet  dam  was  constructed,  a  divert- 
ing dam  in  the  Truckee  River,  a  patent  to  the  land  (forty 
acres)  on  which  this  land  stood,  and  the  maps  and  surveys 
for  a  complete  line  conveying  the  water  of  Lake  Tahoe  to 
the  city  of  the  Golden  Gate.  He  offered  to  construct  this 
line,  including  a  tunnel  through  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  and 
deliver  thirty  million  gallons  of  water  daily,  for  $17,960,000. 
If  a  double  line,  or  a  hundred  millions  of  gallons  daily, 
were  required,  the  price  was  to  be  correspondingly  in- 
creased. 

This  proposition  aroused  the  people  of  Nevada,  and  R.  L. 
Fulton,  of  Reno,  Manager  of  the  State  Board  of  Trade, 
wrote  to  the  San  Francisco  supervisors,  calling  attention  to 
the  facts  that  there  was  no  surplus  water  from  Tahoe  during 
the  irrigation  season,  for  the  water  had  been  diverted  by 
the  farmers  living  along  the  Truckee  River  to  their  fields; 
that  flouring-mills,  smelting  and  reduction  works,  electric 
light  plant  and  water-works  at  Reno,  immense  saw-mills,  a 
furniture  factory,  box  factory,  water  and  electric-light 
works,  railroad  water-tanks,  etc.,  at  Truckee,  half  a  dozen 
ice-ponds,  producing  over  200,000  tons  of  ice  annually,  saw- 
mills and  marble-working  mills  at  Essex;  planing-mills  at 
Verdi,    paper-mill   at   Floristan,    and    other   similar   plants, 


LAKE  TAHOE  AND  TRUCKEE  RIVER       115 

were   totally   dependent   for  their  water  supply  upon   the 
Truckee  River. 

He  also  claimed  (what  was  the  well-known  fact)  that  the 
Von  Schmidt  dam  was  burned  out  many  years  ago,  and  that 
Nevada  would  put  up  a  tremendously  stiff  fight  to  prevent 
any  such  diversion  of  Tahoe  water  as  was  contemplated. 
Needless  to  say  the  plan  fell  through. 


CHAPTER  XII 

BY   RAIL   TO   LAKE    TAHOE 

LAKE  TAHOE  is  fifteen  miles  from  Truckee,  which 
is  one  of  the  mountain  stations  on  the  main  line 
of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway  (Central  Route), 
two  hundred  and  eight  miles  from  San  Francisco,  thirty-five 
miles  from  Reno,  Nevada,  and  five  hundred  and  seventy- 
four  miles  from  Ogden,  Utah.  By  the  San  Joaquin  Valley 
route  via  Sacramento,  the  distance  to  Los  Angeles  is  five 
hundred  and  eighty  miles,  or  by  San  Francisco  and  the 
Coast  Line  six  hundred  and  ninety-two  miles. 

During  the  summer  season  trains  run  frequently  through, 
making  Tahoe  easily  accessible. 

From  the  east  the  traveler  comes  over  what  is  practically 
the  long  known  and  historic  overland  stage-road,  over 
which  so  many  thousands  of  gold-seekers  and  emigrants 
came  in  the  days  of  California's  gold  excitement.  Every 
mile  has  some  story  of  pioneer  bravery  or  heroism,  of  hair- 
breadth escape  from  hostile  Indians  or  fortuitous  deliver- 
ance from  storm  or  disaster.  It  was  over  this  route  the 
pilgrims  came  who  sought  in  Utah  a  land  of  freedom  where 
they  might  follow  their  own  peculiar  conceptions  of  re- 
ligion and  duty,  untrammeled  and  uninterfered  with  by  hos- 
tile onlookers  and  disbelievers.  Here  came  the  home-seekers 
of  the  earlier  day,  when  California  was  still  a  province  of 
Mexico;  those  who  had  been  lured  by  the  glowing  stories 
of  the  Land  of  the  Sun  Down  Sea,  where  orange  and  lemon, 
vine  and  fig  flourished  and  indicated  the  semi-tropic  luxuri- 
ance and  fruitfulness  of  the  land. 

ii6 


TRUCKEE,   CALIF.,  WHERE  TRAVELERS  TAKE  TRAINS   FOR 
LAKE  TAI-IOE 


CROSSING  THE  TRUCKEE  RIVER  NEAR  DEER  PARK  STATION 


PLACKiniLLi:.   KI^   DORADO   CO.,   CALIl-OKNIA 


\1NFV\KD  UN   Tin-:  AUTOMOlULli  illGUWAV  BETW  KKX 
PLACERVILLE  AND  LAKE  TAIIOE 


BY  RAIL  TO  LAKE  TAHOE  117 

From  the  west  the  railroad  traverses,  in  the  main,  the 
continuation  of  this  old  overland  road.  After  leaving  the 
fertile  valley  of  the  Sacramento  and  rising  into  the  glori- 
ous foot-hills  of  the  Sierras,  every  roll  of  the  billows  of  the 
mountains  and  canyons  wedged  in  between  is  redolent  of 
memories  of  the  argonauts  and  emigrants.  Yonder  are 
Yuba,  Dutch  Flat,  the  North  Fork,  the  South  Fork  (of 
the  American  River),  Colfax,  Gold  Run,  Midas,  Blue 
Canyon,  Emigrant  Gap,  Grass  Valley,  Michigan  Bluff, 
Grizzly  Gulch,  Alpha,  Omega,  Eagle  Bird,  Red  Dog, 
Chips  Flat,  Quaker  Hill  and  You  Bet.  Can  you  not  see 
these  camps,  alive  with  rough-handed,  full-bearded,  sun- 
browned,  stalwart  men,  and  hear  the  clang  of  hammer  upon 
drill,  the  shock  of  the  blast,  the  wheeling  away  and  crash 
of  waste  rock  as  it  is  thrown  over  the  dump  pile? 

And  then,  as  we  look  up  and  forward  into  the  sea  of 
mountain-waves  into  the  heart  of  which  we  ride,  who  but 
Joaquin  Miller  can  describe  the  scene? 

Here  lifts  the  land  of  clouds!     Fierce  mountain  forms, 

Made  white  with  everlasting  snows,  look  down 

Through  mists  of  many  canyons,  mighty  storms 

That  stretch  from  Autumn's  purple  drench  and  drown 

The  yellow  hem  of  Spring.     Tall  cedars  frown 

Dark-brow'd,  through  banner'd  clouds  that  stretch  and  stream 

Above  the  sea  from  snowy  mountain  crown. 

The  heavens  roll,  and  all  things  drift  or  seem 

To  drift  about  and  drive  like  some  majestic  dream. 

And  it  is  in  the  very  bosom  of  this  majestic  scenery  that 
Lake  Tahoe  lies  enshrined.  Its  entrancing  beauty  is  such 
that  we  do  not  wonder  that  these  triumphant  monarchs  of 
the  "  upi>er  seas  "  cluster  around  it  as  if  in  reverent  adora- 
tion, and  that  they  wear  their  vestal  virgin  robes  of  purest 
white  in  token  of  the  purity  of  their  worship. 

Thoughts  like  these  flood  our  hearts  and  minds  as  we 
reach  Truckee,  the  point  where  we  leave  the  Southern  Pa- 
cific cars  and  change  to  those  of  the  narrow-gauge  Lake 


ii8      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Tahoe  Railway  and  Transportation  Company.  After  a 
brief  wait,  long  enough  to  allow  transfer  of  baggage,  we 
leave,  from  the  same  station,  for  the  fifteen  miles'  ride  to 
Tahoe  Tavern  on  the  very  edge  of  the  Lake. 

This  ride  is  itself  romantic  and  beautiful.  On  the  day 
trains  observation  cars  are  provided,  and  the  hour  is  one 
of  delightful,  restful  and  enchanting  scenes.  The  Truckee 
River  is  never  out  of  sight  and  again  and  again  it  reminds 
one  in  its  foaming  speed  of  Joaquin  Miller's  expressive  phrase: 

See  where  the  cool  white  river  runs. 

Before  1900  this  ride  used  to  be  taken  by  stage,  the  rail- 
way having  been  built  in  that  year.  It  is  interesting  here  to 
note  that  the  rails,  the  locomotives,  the  passenger  and  freight 
cars  were  all  transported  bodily  across  the  Lake  from  Glen- 
brook,  on  the  Nevada  side.  There  they  were  in  use  for  many 
years  mainly  for  hauling  logs  and  lumber  to  and  from  the 
mills  on  the  summit,  whence  it  was  **  flumed  "  to  Carson  City. 

In  those  days  logging  was  carried  on  in  the  Truckee 
River  Canyon  and  the  visitor  would  often  have  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  logs  "shoot  the  chutes"  into  the  river,  by  which  they 
were  floated  to  the  mills  at  Truckee.     Here  is  a  picture: 

Tree,  bush,  and  flower  grow  and  blossom  upon  either  side; 
and  a  little  bird,  with  a  throat  like  a  thrush,  warbles  a 
canticle  of  exquisite  musical  modulations,  so  to  speak.  But 
the  most  stirring  sight  of  all  is  the  system  of  logging  car- 
ried on  by  the  mill  companies.  "Look!  Quick!"  ejacu- 
lates the  driver;  and  your  gaze  is  directed  to  a  monster  log 
that  comes  furiously  dashing  from  the  summit  down  a  chute 
a  thousand  feet  in  length  with  twice  the  ordinary  speed  of 
a  locomotive.  So  rapid  is  its  descent  that  it  leaves  a  trail 
of  smoke  behind  it,  and  sometimes  kindles  a  fire  among  the 
slivers  along  its  way.  Ah!  it  strikes  the  water!  In  an  in- 
stant there  is  an  inverted  Niagara  in  the  air,  resplendent 
with  prismatic  and  transparent  veils  of  spray.^ 

1  John  Vance  Cheney  in  Lippincott's. 


BY  RAIL  TO  LAKE  TAHOE  119 

The  main  portion  of  the  canyon  is  walled  In  by  abrupt 
acclivities,  upon  which  majestic  trees  used  to  grow,  but 
where  now  only  the  growth  of  the  past  twenty-five  to  fifty 
years  is  found,  doing  its  best  to  hide  the  scars  and  wounds 
of  the  logging  days. 

The  river,  issuing  from  the  Lake  above,  dashes  down  its 
wild  way  in  resistless  freedom.  It  is  a  rapid,  all  but  sav- 
age stream,  widening  occasionally  into  sheltered  pools  exceed- 
ingly dark  and  deep.  The  bowlders  in  its  channel,  and  those 
crowding  down  into  it  from  its  farther  bank,  cause  it  to 
eddy  and  foam  with  fierce  but  becoming  pride. 

A  few  miles  from  the  Tavern  we  pass  the  scene  of  the 
Squaw  Valley  mining  excitement  where  the  two  towns  of 
Knoxville  and  Claraville  arose  as  if  by  magic,  tent  cities 
of  thousands  of  inhabitants,  lured  hither  by  a  dream  of  gold, 
too  soon  to  fade  away,  leaving  nothing  but  distress  behind. 

Deer  Park  station  suggests  the  leaving  point  for  that 
charmingly  picturesque  resort,  snuggling  in  the  heart  of 
Bear  Canyon.  Now  we  pass  the  masses  of  tuffaceous  brec- 
cia that  "  Pap  "  Church,  the  old  stage-driver  used  to  call 
the  Devil's  Pulpit,  and  the  devil's  this  and  that  or  the  other, 
until  many  a  traveler  would  wish  they  were  all  with  the 
devil. 

This  is  a  remnant  of  the  vast  mass  of  volcanic  rock  that 
in  long  ago  prehistoric  times  was  poured  out  in  molten 
sheets  over  the  region,  and  that  formed  the  range  we  shall 
shortly  see  at  the  north  end  of  the  Lake  —  the  Mount 
Pluto  range.  At  some  later  period  either  earthquake  con- 
vulsion started  the  break  which  ultimately  eroded  and  dis- 
integrated into  the  great  gorge  through  which  the  railway 
has  brought  us,  or  grinding  glacier  cut  the  pathway  for  us. 

Here,  on  the  right,  is  a  tiny  swinging  foot-bridge  over  the 
river.  This  is  the  beginning,  the  suggestion,  for  the  vast 
suspension  bridges  that  have  allowed  the  world  to  cross  the 


120      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

great  North  River  from  New  York  to  Brooklyn,  and  that 
span  great  rivers  and  gorges  elsewhere  in  the  world.  Nay! 
scarcely  the  beginning.  That  you  find  further  up  and  deeper 
down  in  the  High  Sierras  and  their  shaded  and  wooded 
canyons,  where  wild  vines  throw  their  clinging  tendrils 
across  from  one  shore  to  another  of  foaming  creeks,  and 
gradually  grow  in  girth  and  strength  until  they  form  bridges, 
over  which  chipmunks,  squirrels,  porcupines,  'coons,  coy- 
otes, and  finally  mountain  lions,  bears,  and  even  men  cross 
with  safety.  There  is  the  real  origin  of  the  suspension 
bridge.  But  this  is  a  miniature,  a  model,  a  suggestion  of  the 
big  bridges.  It  affords  ready  access  to  the  house  on  the 
other  side.  In  winter,  however,  the  boards  are  taken  up, 
as  the  heavy  snows  that  fall  and  accumulate  might  wreck 
it. 

It  is  hard  to  realize  that,  a  few  months  from  now,  when 
winter  begins,  this  railroad  must  perforce  cease  its  opera- 
tions. Snow  falls,  here,  where  the  sun  is  now  smiling  so 
beneficently  upon  laughing  meadows,  dotted  here  and  there 
with  dainty  flowers,  to  a  depth  of  ten  and  even  twenty 
feet.  The  mail  —  necessarily  much  reduced  in  winter  —  is 
first  of  all  carried  in  sleighs,  then,  as  the  snows  deepen,  on 
snow-shoes,  so  that  those  who  stay  to  preserve  the  "  summer 
hotels "  from  winter's  ravages  may  not  feel  entirely  shut 
out  from  the  living  world  beyond. 

But  there  is  nothing  that  suggests  snow  now.  We  are 
enjoying  the  delights  of  a  summer  day  or  evening,  and 
know  that  we  are  near  our  journey's  end.  Suddenly  there 
is  a  long  call  of  the  whistle,  a  short  curve,  and  if  in  the 
daytime,  the  Lake  suddenly  appears,  or,  if  at  night,  the 
lights  of  the  Tavern,  and  our  rail  journey  is  done.  We  are 
deposited  in  Fairjdand,  for  whether  it  be  day  or  evening,  the 
Lake  or  the  Tavern,  our  senses  are  thrilled  and  charmed 
by  everything  that  appears. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   WISHBONE    AUTOMOBILE   ROUTE   TO    AND   AROUND 
LAKE   TAHOE 

THIS  is  the  name  given  to  the  260-mile  automobile 
route  to  and  from  Lake  Tahoe,  going  in  from  Sac- 
ramento over  the  vi^orld-famed  Emigrant  Gap  and 
Donner  Lake  road,  around  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Tahoe, 
from  Tahoe  Tavern  to  Tallac,  and  thence  back  to  Sacra- 
mento over  the  historic  and  picturesque  Placerville  road. 
While  both  of  the  two  main  arms  of  the  "  wishbone " 
carry  the  traveler  over  the  Sierras,  the  roads  are  wonderfully 
different.  On  the  Emigrant  Gap  arm  the  road  seems  to 
have  been  engineered  somewhat  after  the  Indian  fashion, 
viz.,  to  allow  the  wildest  and  most  expansive  outlooks, 
while  the  Placerville  route  is  largely  confined  to  the  pictur- 
esque and  beautiful  canyon  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  Ameri- 
can River.  Both  have  honored  histories  and  both  are  fas- 
cinating from  the  scenic  standpoint  and  the  difference  in 
the  two  routes  merely  accentuates  the  charm  of  the  trip, 
when  compared  with  the  new  portion  of  the  road,  the  con- 
necting link  that  binds  them  together  and  now  makes  pos- 
sible the  ride  around  the  lake  shore.  Experience  has  dem- 
onstrated, however,  that  it  is  better  to  make  the  circuit  as 
herein  outlined. 

A  brief  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  building  of  the  Emi- 
grant Gap  portion  of  this  road  cannot  fail  to  be  of  interest. 

It  was  practically  followed  by  a  host  of  the  emigrants  who 
sought    California    during    the    great    gold    excitement    of 

121 


122      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

1848-9.  It  was  also  one  of  the  earliest  routes  used  between 
Sacramento  and  the  mines  of  the  High  Sierras.  In  1849  it 
w^as  established  from  Sacramento  to  Auburn,  Grass  Valley 
and  Nevada  City  and  to-day  there  is  practically  little  devia- 
tion from  the  original  route.  In  1850  the  mines  on  the 
Forest  Hill  Divide  were  discovered  and  a  branch  road  from 
Auburn  was  built  to  that  section.  At  Illinoistown  (now 
Colfax)  the  road  branched,  one  arm  crossing  the  North 
Fork  of  the  American  River  to  Iowa  Hill  and  other  camps 
on  that  divide,  while  the  main  road  continued  up  the 
Sierras  to  Gold  Run,  Dutch  Flat  and  other  points  higher 
up. 

Until  the  Central  Pacific  Railway  was  built  in  the 
'sixties  Illinoistown  was  the  junction  for  the  different 
Camps  in  Nevada  County  and  the  Bear  River  and  Iowa 
Hill  Divides.  The  population  of  these  regions  in  those 
early  days  was  much  greater  than  at  the  present  time,  yet 
the  demands  of  the  modern  automobile  have  so  improved 
the  roads  that  they  are  much  superior  to  what  the  large 
population  of  those  days  enjoyed. 

In  1862  the  California  legislature  authorized  the  super- 
visors of  certain  counties  to  call  special  elections  to  vote 
upon  the  question  as  to  whether  those  counties  should  sub- 
scribe towards  the  building  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railway, 
and  to  authorize  them  to  issue  bonds  for  the  amounts 
they  decided  to  expend.  San  Francisco  county  subscribed 
$1,000,000,  Sacramento  county  $300,000  and  Placer 
county  $250,000. 

In  1863  the  Railroad  Company  began  its  work  of  grad- 
ing the  road  bed  at  Sacramento,  and  yet,  iji  1865  it  was  only 
completed  to  Alta,  a  distance  of  68  miles.  At  the  same  time 
it  was  making  strenuous  efforts  to  divert  passenger  and 
freight  traffic  for  Virginia  City  and  other  Nevada  points 
from  the  Placerville  route.     This  had  become  possible  be- 


THE  WISHBONE  AUTOMOBILE  ROUTE       123 

cause  of  the  fact  that  when  the  railway  line  was  actually 
built  as  far  as  Newcastle  the  engineers  realized  that  be- 
fore they  could  build  the  rest  of  their  railroad  they  would 
need  to  construct  a  highway  of  easy  grade,  which  would  en- 
able them  to  haul  the  necessary  supplies  for  constructing  the 
tunnels,  cuts  and  bridges.  Accordingly  a  survey  was  made 
up  to  Truckee,  over  the  Nevada  line  into  Reno  and  Vir- 
ginia City,  securing  the  best  possible  grade  for  a  wagon  road, 
and  this  was  rushed  to  a  hasty  completion. 

Naturally,  they  were  anxious  to  gain  all  the  paying  traffic 
possible,  and  especially  under  the  adverse  conditions  under 
which  they  were  laboring.  But,  needless  to  say,  this  caused 
the  fiercest  hostility  on  the  part  of  their  competitors,  laid 
them  open  to  serious  charges,  which,  later,  were  made,  and 
that  for  a  time  threatened  desperate  consequences,  as  I 
will  now  proceed  to  relate. 

In  the  late  fall  of  1864  the  Sacramento  Valley  Railroad 
(the  rival  of  the  Central  Pacific)  arranged  to  make  a  record 
trip  from  Freeport  to  Virginia  City  by  the  Placerville  route. 
Though  the  officials  endeavored  to  keep  the  matter  secret, 
it  leaked  out  and  immediately  the  Central  Pacific  planned  to 
circumvent  their  aim.  They  stationed  relays  along  their 
own  line  to  compete,  and  Nature  and  Fate  seemed  to  come 
to  their  aid.  A  fierce  storm  arose  the  day  before  the  start 
was  to  be  made,  and  it  fell  heavier  on  the  Placerville  than 
on  the  other  route.  Though  the  drivers  of  each  line  did 
their  utmost,  feeling  their  own  personal  honor,  as  well  as 
that  of  their  company  at  stake,  the  heavy  rains  at  Straw- 
berry arrested  the  Placerville  stage  and  made  further  prog- 
ress impossible,  while  the  other  route  was  enabled  to  com- 
plete its  trip  on  record  time.  Mr.  L.  L.  Robinson,  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  Railroad,  who 
himself  accompanied  the  stage,  wired  from  Strawberry, 
"  Heavy  rains,  heavy  roads,  slow  time  " —  reluctant  to  own 


124      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

a  possible  defeat.  But  the  Sacramento  Union,  the  organ  of 
the  Central  Pacific,  came  out  the  next  morning  with  glow- 
ing accounts  of  the  successful  run  of  the  stages  over  the 
Emigrant  Gap  route  and  ridiculed  Mr.  Robinson's  telegram, 
ironically  comparing  it  with  Csesar's  classic  message  to  the 
Roman  Senate:     "  Veni,  Vidi,  Vici." 

It  was  such  struggles  for  local  business  as  this  that  led 
the  San  Francisco  Alta  California,  a  paper  bitterly  opposed  to 
the  Central  Pacific,  to  denounce  the  railway,  in  1866,  as  the 
"  Dutch  Flat  Swindle."  It  claimed  that  the  railway  would 
never  be  built  further  than  Alta  and  that  it  was  built  so 
far  only  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  passenger  and  freight 
traffic  over  their  wagon  road  to  Virginia  City  and  other 
Nevada  points.  Other  San  Francisco  papers  joined  in  the 
fight  and  so  energetically  was  it  conducted,  and  so  powerful 
became  the  opposition  that  they  actually  prevailed  upon  the 
people  of  San  Francisco  to  repudiate  their  contfact  to  pur- 
chase a  million  dollars'  worth  of  Central  Pacific  stock  and 
compromise  by  practically  making  the  railroad  company  a 
present  of  $600,000  (which  had  already  been  expended)  pro- 
vided they  would  release  the  City  and  County  from  their 
pledge  to  raise  the  remaining  $400,000. 

The  folly  of  this  action  is  now  so  apparent  that  it  is  hard 
to  conceive  how  even  political  and  civic  jealousy  or  hatred 
could  have  been  so  blinded  to  self-interest.  The  Central 
Pacific  engineers  had  undertaken  one  of  the  most  difficult 
pieces  of  railway  engineering  in  the  world,  and  the  finan- 
ciers of  the  company  were  having  an  equally  desperate 
struggle.  During  the  Civil  War  the  finances  of  the  na- 
tion were  at  a  low  ebb  and  money  was  exceedingly  difficult 
to  secure.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  obstacles  the  company  had 
gone  ahead  in  perfect  good  faith,  and  at  that  very  time 
were  hauling  rails  and  track  material  from  Alta,  and  soon 
from   Cisco,   to   Truckee    (then   called   Coburn   Station   on 


AUTOMOBILIXG  ALOXC  THE  TRUCKEE  RIVER 


<'.\    THE  AUTO-MODILE   LULLEN  AK 


D  ARULXD  LAKE  TAHOE 


ATLANTIC    JO   J'Ani  K    AL' H  ).\l(  )l;i  LI.    TAUl'V,    I'UI:.\I1I:K   TUUK, 
1911,  STOPPING  AT  TAIIOE  TANERN 


Ciijiyn^ht    lyicj,    by   Harold    A.    Parker. 

CASCADE  LAKE  AND  MT.  TALLAC 


THE  WISHBONE  AUTOMOBILE  ROUTE       125 

the  old  Emigrant  Gap  road),  and  had  actually  built  the 
railroad  from  Truckee  down  into  Nevada  and  as  far  east 
as  Wadsworth,  or  a  little  beyond,  before  the  tunnel  at  Sum- 
mit was  completed. 

Thus  in  storm  and  stress  was  this  road  born,  and  in  the 
winter  time  of  our  day  it  is  still  a  road  of  storm  and  stress, 
as  are  all  of  the  roads  over  the  High  Sierras.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  while  the  elevation  at  Sacramento  is  but 
thirty  feet  above  sea  level,  at  Summit  it  is  7018  feet,  and 
even  at  Truckee,  where  the  turn  is  made  for  Tahoe,  it  is 
5819  feet.  Naturally  such  high  altitudes  receive  consider- 
able snow,  which  render  the  roads  impassable  during  the  win- 
ter season.  In  19 14  I  went  from  Truckee  to  the  Summit 
on  the  loth  of  June,  and  save  for  two  or  three  patches  of 
snow  which  were  rapidly  melting,  there  were  no  serious  ob- 
stacles that  any  good  motor  could  not  overcome. 

FROM  SACRAMENTO  TO  TAHOE  ON  THE  EMIGRANT  GAP  AND 
DONNER   LAKE   ROUTE,    1 35    MILES 

From  Sacramento  the  grade  is  easy  and  the  country  fairly 
open  until  Auburn  is  reached  (353^  miles.)  The  roads  are 
excellent,  the  disintegrated  granite  affording  local  material 
close  at  hand  for  perfect  road  building.  The  Sierras 
stretch  away  to  the  east  in  gently  ascending  billows,  covered 
over  with  richest  verdure  of  native  trees  of  every  variety, 
and  of  the  thousands  of  orchard  trees  that  are  making  this 
region  as  famous  for  its  fruits  as  it  used  to  be  for  its  mines. 
For  from  1849  until  the  hydraulic  mines  were  closed  down 
by  the  anti-debris  decision  in  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  this 
section  and  beyond  was  one  of  the  richest  gold  mining  re- 
gions of  California,  and  historically,  one  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance to  the  State.  Such  places  as  Auburn,  lUinoistown 
(Colfax),  Gold  Run  and  Dutch  Flat,  were  rich  producing 
camps  and  branch  roads  reached  to  Yankee  Jim,  Todd's 


126      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Valley,  Forest  Hill,  Michigan  Bluffs,  Bath,  and  other 
towns  on  what  is  known  as  the  Forest  Hill  Divide,  a  di- 
vide being  a  local  term,  to  signify  the  rocky,  mountainous 
mass, —  nearly  always  having  a  level  grade  on  its  summit, — 
that  separates  two  forks  of  the  same  stream,  or  two  differ- 
ent streams.  From  Colfax  another  road  led  to  Grass  Val- 
ley, Nevada  City,  and  North  Bloomfield  in  Nevada  County, 
and  Iowa  Hill,  Wisconsin  Hill,  Monona  Flat,  and  Damas- 
cus on  the  Iowa  Hill  Divide.  All  these  were  centers  of  rich 
mining  districts  which  were  scenes  of  the  greatest  activity 
in  the  days  of  their  productivity.  Now,  however,  most  of 
them  are  abandoned,  except  Auburn,  Colfax,  and  Nevada 
City  which  have  other  resources,  and  Grass  Valley,  which 
maintains  its  high  standing  owing  to  its  rich  quartz  mines. 
Forest  Hill,  Iowa  Hill,  and  Michigan  Bluff  have  drift 
mines  which  maintain  small  and  meager  populations  com- 
pared with  those  of  the  early  and  prosperous  days.  In  the 
'fifties  Yankee  Jim  and  its  tributary  mines  had  a  popu- 
lation of  3000,  while  to-day  it  is  entirely  deserted.  Todd's 
Valley,  which  was  also  a  flourishing  camp  has  suffered  the 
same  fate. 

Auburn  to  Colfax  16  Miles,  Colfax  to  Emigrant  Gap,  30^ 
Miles.  Leaving  Auburn  the  road  ascends  more  rapidly 
until  Colfax  (16  miles)  is  reached  (elevation  2422  feet). 
Then  ten  miles  further  one  is  in  the  heart  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive hydraulic  mining  operations  of  California.  Thou- 
sands of  acres  are  passed  which  yet  bear  the  scars  of  the 
"  washing  down  "  for  the  precious  mineral  hid  away  dur- 
ing the  centuries  until  the  Argonauts  of  '49  and  later  un- 
earthed it  by  their  gigantic  hydraulic  nozzles.  Millions  of 
dollars  were  extracted  from  these  placers,  but  now  the  vil- 
lages are  deserted  and  all  mining  operations  have  ceased.  The 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  automobile  parties  will  arrange 
to  stop  over  in  one  of  these  little  places,  and  with  a  com- 


THE  WISHBONE  AUTOMOBILE  ROUTE       127 

petent  guide,  go  over  the  deserted  placers.  It  is  hard  to 
realize  that  by  the  mere  power  of  water  mountains  were 
washed  away,  leaving  the  denuded  country  on  the  one  hand, 
a  land  of  mounds  and  hummocks,  like  the  Bad  Lands  in 
miniature,  and  on  the  other  hand  of  masses  of  debris,  too 
heavy  to  be  washed  away  into  the  streams. 

The  wildest  portions  of  the  Sierras  are  revealed  in  ascend- 
ing from  Dutch  Flat  to  the  Summit.  The  snowsheds  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railway  come  into  sight,  perched  like  pe- 
culiar long  black  boxes,  with  peep-holes,  along  an  impos- 
sible ledge  of  the  massive  granite  cliffs,  and  the  Sierran  trees 
tower  upright  from  every  possible  vantage  ground  in  the 
granite  beneath. 

At  Towle,  three  miles  beyond  Dutch  Flat,  the  shipping 
point  is  reached  from  which  much  of  the  material  was 
hauled  for  the  building  of  Lake  Spaulding  dam.  Hundreds 
of  teams  were  employed  in  this  work,  and  the  road  showed 
an  almost  unbroken  procession  for  months.  This  was  in 
1912-13.  A  side  trip  to  this  remarkable  dam,  impounding 
the  waters  of  the  High  Sierras  for  the  generation  of  electric 
power  to  be  used  not  only  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  but 
in  far  away  San  Francisco,  cannot  fail  to  be  of  interest. 
The  area  of  the  Lake,  with  the  dam  at  its  present  eleva- 
tion, is  such  as  to  justify  the  assertion  that  it  is  next  to  if 
not  the  largest  artificial  lake  in  the  world. 

Emigrant  Gap  to  Cisco,  14  Miles. — Fourteen  miles  from 
Towle,  after  enjoying  the  rich  blue  haze  of  Blue  Canyon,  the 
road  passes  through  the  natural  Sierran  pass  at  Emigrant  Gap 
which  gives  its  name  to  the  route.  Here  one  who  has  not 
been  over  the  road  before  must  not  fail  to  note  the  follow- 
ing: As  he  passes  through  the  Gap  the  massive  granite  wall 
towers  in  dominant  power  to  the  right  and  leads  one  to  feel 
that  miles  of  rugged  peaks  are  there.  Yet  not  more  than  a 
hundred  yards  farther  on,  the  wall  fades  away,  and  if  he 


128      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

stops  here,  and  turns  off  the  road  slightly  to  the  right,  he 
will  glimpse  a  vision  of  glory  and  sublimity  that  will  take 
away  his  breath.  Here,  from  a  thousand  or  two  thousand 
feet  almost  sheer  above  it,  one  gazes  down  to  where  in  peace- 
ful repose  lies  Bear  Valley,  a  rich  emerald  green  meadow, 
on  the  right  side  of  which  flows  the  South  Fork  of  the  Yuba 
River,  and  on  the  left  heads  Bear  Creek,  which  empties  into 
the  Sacramento  at  Marysville.  Ten,  fifteen,  twenty  minutes 
are  always  spent  here  by  those  who  know  of  this  delectable 
surprise,  yet  many  come  over  the  road  unheeding  and  are 
never  aware  of  what  they  have  missed. 

Eight  miles  beyond  Emigrant  Gap,  at  Cisco,  one  sees  a 
branch  road  which  leads  to  the  old  Meadow  Lake  Mining 
District,  which  in  the  'sixties  had  a  population  of  several 
thousands.  A  large  town  was  built  there,  which  is  now 
totally  abandoned. 

Cisco  to  Summit,  13  Miles.  At  Summit  a  marvelous 
view  is  had  in  both  directions,  east  and  west.  West- 
ward the  fall  of  the  Sierras  into  the  Sacramento  Valley 
is  apparently  so  gentle  and  easy  as  to  lead  one  to  wonder 
that  he  has  risen  so  high,  but  eastward  the  descent  is  much 
more  steep  and  abrupt.  The  rude  granite  in  many  places 
is  almost  barren  though  Sierran  trees  abound.  The  grade 
is  easy,  and  the  new  grade  and  tunnel  under  the  Southern 
Pacific  tracks  makes  an  added  improvement.  Almost  im- 
mediately on  emerging  from  this  tunnel  the  full  glory  of  the 
eastern  view  is  forced  upon  the  attention.  At  one's  feet, 
apparently,  lies  the  placid  surface  of  Donner  Lake,  its  pure 
blue  giving  one  a  premonitory  foretaste  of  the  richer  blues 
that  await  him  at  Tahoe,  while  beyond  are  the  mountains 
that  overlook  the  Great  Basin  of  Nevada. 

Summit  to  Truckee,  II  Miles.  Rapidly  the  road  de- 
scends, well  engineered  and  easy  to  negotiate  to  any  responsi- 
ble driver,  and  before  one  is  aware  he  is  bowling  along  on 


THE  WISHBONE  AUTOMOBILE  ROUTE       129 

the  level  Donner  Boulevard,  which  is  as  perfect  a  piece  of 
country  road  as  can  be  found  anywhere  on  earth.  The 
Monument  (not  yet  completed)  erected  by  the  Native  Sons 
to  the  memory  of  the  Donner  Lake  pioneers,  and  the  Me- 
morial Cross,  erected  on  the  spot  where  the  unhappy  party 
camped,  are  passed  and  in  a  few  minutes  Truckee  is  reached. 
This  was  once  the  scene  of  great  lumber  activities  but  now 
much  reduced,  although  it  is  the  shipping  point  for  Hobarts 
Mills,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  lumber  camps  of  the  West. 

Here  the  road  to  Tahoe  turns  sharply  to  the  south,  and 
the  fifteen  miles  run  to  the  Tavern  is  made  in  the  picturesque 
canyon  of  the  Truckee  River  fully  described  in  another 
chapter. 

The  elevations  are  Sacramento,  32  feet;  Auburn,  1360; 
Colfax,  2422;  Emigrant  Gap,  5225;  Cisco,  5940;  Summit, 
7018;  Truckee,  5819;  Tahoe  Tavern,  6240. 

FROM  TAHOE  TAVERN  TO  TALLAC 

On  Tuesday,  June  9,  191 4,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  making 
the  first  trip  of  the  season  over  the  new  Tahoe  Boulevard 
from  Tahoe  to  Tallac.  Let  me  here  quote  the  account  writ- 
ten at  the  time: 

It  was  a  fine  morning,  clear  and  just  cool  enough  to  be 
pleasant,  no  wind,  sun  shining  through  the  trees,  the  Lake 
glistening  in  its  richest  morning  glory,  the  air  like  wine,  birds 
singing  everywhere,  chipmunks  chattering  as  they  ran  up  and 
down  the  trees,  and  we  as  full  of  life  as  they,  when  we 
made  the  start.  Our  machine  was  a  Chalmers  20,  a  first- 
class  chauffeur  at  the  wheel,  with  instructions  to  go  slow, 
let  us  see  all  there  was,  and  to  run  no  risks  if  the  winter's 
snows  and  storms  had  interfered  with  the  safety  of  the  road. 
We  didn't  even  wear  overcoats,  though  all  the  peaks  were 
covered  with  snow. 

The  first  mile  or  two  from  the  Tavern  is  through  ave- 


130      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

nues  of  second  growth  timber  just  tall  enough  to  be  delight- 
ful. In  turn  we  passed  many  of  the  choice  residences  that 
are  making  Tahoe  growingly  popular  as  a  summer  home,  and 
then  crossed  Ward  Creek  and  Blackwood  Creek.  This  lat- 
ter Is  one  of  the  principal  trout  spawning  streams  of  Tahoe, 
and  to  prevent  fishermen  from  catching  the  fish  that  seek 
the  stream  at  the  spawning  season  the  Fish  Commissioners 
have  placed  a  buoy  out  in  the  Lake,  some  twenty-five  hundred 
feet  away,  within  which  bound  it  is  illegal  to  catch  fish. 

While  many  trees  have  been  logged  from  this  region 
there  are  still  enough  to  make  it  forest-like,  and  as  the 
road  winds  and  turns  it  affords  glimpses  and  full  views, 
sometimes  for  only  a  moment  or  two,  and  again  for  a  minute 
or  more,  of  the  placid-faced  blue  Lake  on  the  left,  or  the 
snowy  mountain  summits  straight  ahead  or  on  the  right. 
What  rich  contrasts  of  color,  what  revelations  of  majesty 
and  sublimity  each  new  turn  affords! 

The  first  eight  miles  is  fairly  level  road  and  close  to  the 
Lake,  but  eight  miles  out,  just  before  reaching  McKinney's, 
the  new  portion  of  the  State  Highway  begins,  and  it  has  been 
engineered  to  give  scenic  and  romantic  effect  all  along  the 
way.  In  road  building  no  longer  is  it  necessary  to  consider 
the  cheapest  and  nearest  way.  "  Give  us  the  most  scenic," 
cry  the  motorists,  "  we'll  pay  the  bills  and  our  machines  will 
speedily  eat  up  any  extra  distance  we  may  be  required  to 
travel  to  obtain  the  best  scenery  of  the  country."  From  now 
on  the  whole  trip  is  one  of  carefully  engineered  surprises 
and  revelations.  Colwell's  Moana  Villa,  and  Pomin's  new 
and  beautiful  place  are  passed  and  then  we  ascend,  and  sud- 
denly Meek's  Bay  is  revealed  to  us,  a  glorious  symphony  in 
blues,  deepening  and  richening  into  pure  amythest,  with  lines, 
patches  and  borders  of  emerald  and  lapis  lazuli.  Beyond 
rise  hill-studded  slopes  leading  the  eye  higher  and  higher  un- 
til, anchored  in  a  sky  as  blue  as  is  the  Lake  below,  are  the 


THE  WISHBONE  AUTOMOBILE  ROUTE      131 

snowy-white  crowns  of  the  Rubicon  Peaks,  with  here  and 
there  a  craggy  mass  protruding  as  though  it  were  a  Fran- 
ciscan's scalp  surrounded  by  pure  white  hair.  Up  and  down 
we  glide,  the  soft  purring  of  the  motor  as  we  run  on  the 
level  changing  to  the  chug-chugging  of  the  up-pulls,  or  the 
grip  of  the  brake  as  we  descend.  Every  few  feet  new  vistas 
of  beauty  are  projected  before  us.  The  moving  pictures 
are  all  exquisite.  Indeed,  after  many  studies  of  this  incom- 
parable Lake  Tahoe  I  verily  believe  there  is  no  more  beau- 
tiful spot  on  it  than  Meek's  Bay  seen  from  this  road. 

To  get  its  full  charm  we  stop  the  machine  for  a  while. 
Looking  back  we  discover  that  the  curve  where  we  rest  is 
a  marvelous  outlook  point.  We  have  ascended  to  a  good 
height  and  look  down  upon  the  Lake.  There  are  light  blue, 
emerald  green,  deep  blue  in  patches  and  in  long  irregularly 
shaped  points.  Here  are  Como,  Maggiore,  Lugano  and 
Windermere  all  in  one,  though  as  yet  free  from  the  houses 
and  artificial  gardens  on  the  slopes.  But  Nature  such  as 
this  needs  none  of  man's  adornment  to  make  it  perfect. 

Starting  the  engine  again  we  circle  around  the  point  and 
come  immediately  into  another  charming  circlet  of  views. 
Between  Meek's  Bay  and  Rubicon  Point  is  another  little 
recess  in  the  lakeshore,  Grecian  Bay,  a  good  second  to  the 
one  I  have  just  described.  Here  we  particularly  notice  the 
effect  of  the  many  varieties  of  trees,  their  dark  trunks, 
branches  and  foliage  set  out  almost  in  silhouette  against  the 
pure  color  of  the  Lake  below.  These  elevated  stretches  of 
road  are  a  constant  joy  and  delight.  They  afford  us  glad 
surprises  every  few  moments  in  such  views  of  the  Lake  as 
we  could  not  otherwise  obtain. 

Crossing  Lonely  Gulch,  watched  over  by  the  serene  pure 
loveliness  of  the  snowy  peaks  above,  a  good  climb  up  a  steep 
stretch  of  road  brings  us  to  the  shoulder  of  Rubicon  Point. 
Winding  in   and   out,   twining  and   twisting  around   and 


132      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

around,  we  reach  Rubicon  Park,  from  which  place  we  get 
a  perfect  view  of  the  whole  Lake  from  one  end  to  the  other. 

To-day  there  are  a  score  or  more  of  fishermen  out  in 
their  little  boats,  and  strange  to  say,  all  of  them  near  enough 
to  be  seen,  are  fishing  in  a  patch  of  deep  blue.  The  water 
there  must  be  deeper  than  elsewhere,  for  there  is  where  they 
invariably  get  their  best  catches. 

In  marked  contrast  to  the  blue  is  a  great  finger  of  emer- 
ald thrust  out  from  a  nearby  point,  as  if  in  warning  not 
to  dare  pass  its  mysterious  border. 

Now  we  come  to  the  wild  and  rugged  scenery.  We  are 
hemmed  in  on  the  right  by  towering  crags  and  walls  of 
massive  gray  rock.  Shattered  and  seamed,  scarred  and  dis- 
integrated, they  look  as  though  earthquake  and  lightning 
shock  and  the  storms  of  a  thousand  years  had  battled  with 
them.  They  give  a  new  touch  of  grandeur  and  almost  awe- 
some sublimity  to  the  scene. 

For  a  mile  or  two  we  play  at  hide  and  seek  with  the  Lake. 
It  seems  as  though  we  were  in  the  hands  of  a  wizard. 
"Now  you  see  it,  now  you  don't."  Query:  "Where  is 
the  Lake  ? "  Mountains,  snowbanks,  granite  walls,  trees 
galore,  creeks  flashing  their  white  crests  dashing  down  their 
stony  courses  toward  the  Lake,  but  only  now  and  then  do 
we  catch  fleeting  glimpses  of  it.  All  at  once  it  bursts  full 
and  clear  again  upon  our  enraptured  vision,  but  only  to 
give  us  a  full  taste  of  its  supernal  beauty  before  we  are 
whirled  around  a  curve  where  the  eye  rests  upon  nothing 
but  the  rugged  majesty  of  the  Sierras.  Change  and  con- 
trast, the  picturesque,  beautiful,  delicate  and  exquisite  in 
close  touch  and  harmonious  relationship  with  the  majestic 
and  the  sublime.  Travel  the  whole  world  over  and  nothing 
surpassing  this  can  be  found. 

Now  we  curve  around  high  up  above  Emerald  Bay,  that 
small  glacial  Lake,  the  eastern  terminal  moraine  of  which 


THE  WISHBONE  AUTOMOBILE  ROUTE       133 

was  unfortunately  torn  through,  so  that  the  lake  disappeared 
and  became  a  bay  of  the  great  Lake  itself.  Every  moment  of 
this  portion  of  the  ride  is  a  delight.  The  senses  are  kept 
keenly  alert,  for  not  only  have  wt  the  Lake,  the  bay  and 
the  mountains,  but  part  of  the  way  we  have  flowers  and 
shrubs  by  the  thousands,  bees  and  butterflies  flit  to  and  fro, 
and  singing  streams  come  foaming  white  from  the  snow- 
banks above,  eager  to  reach  the  Lake.  As  our  car-wheels 
dash  across  these  streamlets  they  splash  up  the  water  on  each 
side  into  sparkling  diamonds  and  on  every  hand  come  up 
the  sweet  scents  of  growing,  living  things.  Now  Mt.  Tal- 
lac,  in  all  his  serene  majesty,  looms  ahead.  Snow  a  hundred 
or  more  feet  deep  in  places  covers  his  rocky  sides.  Here  we 
can  see  where  glaciers  were  born  in  the  early  days  when 
Tallac  was  several  thousand  feet  higher  than  it  now  is. 

Below  us  is  the  emerald-ringed  bay,  with  its  romantic 
little  island  at  the  west  end,  and  nearby  the  joyously-shout- 
ing Eagle  Creek  as  it  plunges  over  the  precipice  and  makes 
the  foam-flecked  Eagle  Falls.  Our  road  here  was  blasted 
through  some  fiercely  solid  and  hostile  rock.  One  boulder 
alone  that  stood  in  the  way  weighed  ( it  was  estimated  by  the 
engineers)  from  800  to  1000  tons.  Fifty  cases  of  highly 
explosive  powder  were  suitably  placed  all  around  it.  Ex- 
cursion steamers  took  hundreds  of  people  from  all  parts  of 
the  Lake  to  see  the  explosion,  and  at  the  proper  moment,  while 
everybody  held  his  breath,  the  fuses  were  fired,  the  blasts 
took  effect,  the  rock  flew  down  to  the  level  beneath,  shat- 
tered into  four  great  masses.  A  new  El  Capitan  now  rises 
above  us,  though  it  lacks  the  smooth  unbroken  dignity  of 
the  great  Yosemite  cliff,  yet  it  is  sublime  in  its  sudden  rise 
and  vast  height.  Nestling  at  its  feet  is  Eagle  Lake,  and 
beyond  are  the  Velmas  and  a  score  of  other  glacial  jewels 
calling  for  visitors  to  rhapsodize  over  their  beauty.  Mag- 
gie's Peaks  are  to  our  right.  Eagle  Falls  to  our  left,  with 


134      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Emerald  Bay,  the  Island,  the  Point  and  the  Lake  beyond  all 
calling  upon  us  to  enjoy  them  to  the  full. 

We  decide  to  stay  here  for  lunch,  and  under  the  shelter 
of  a  giant  sugar  pine  a  thousand  years  old,  listening  to  the 
eternally  buoyant  song  of  Eagle  Falls,  we  refresh  ourselves 
with  the  good  lunch  put  up  for  us  at  the  Tavern. 

Again  we  push  ahead  and  soon  have  our  first  adventure: 
The  road  gang  was  at  work,  and  we  did  not  expect  to  go 
much  farther,  but  they  assured  us  that,  save  for  a  few  rough 
places  here  and  there,  which  they  would  speedily  correct, 
we  need  have  no  fear  but  that  we  could  get  through  with 
ease.  In  a  score  of  places,  since  we  left  the  Tavern,  we 
had  crossed  little  streams  of  snow-water  that  had  come 
tumbling  down  from  the  banks  above.  Suddenly  we  came 
to  one  with  a  larger  volume  than  most  of  the  others,  and 
the  road  bed  a  little  softer,  so  it  had  cut  quite  a  deep  little 
passage  for  itself.  Easily  our  chauffeur  dropped  the  front 
wheels  into  the  cut,  and  to  his  surprise  he  found  they  stuck 
there.  It  did  not  take  us  long  to  jack  up  the  wheels  and 
put  rocks  underneath  them,  and  we  were  about  ready  to 
get  out  when  the  road  gang  came  along  with  a  wagon  and 
a  pair  of  sturdy  mules.  As  quickly  as  it  takes  me  to  tell  it  the 
mules  were  attached  to  our  back  axle  and  we  were  pulled 
out.  A  few  more  rocks  and  a  couple  of  planks  placed  over 
the  cut  and  we  were  honking  on  our  way  with  triumph. 

Half  a  mile  farther  we  came  upon  the  ridge  that  sepa- 
rates Emerald  Bay  from  Cascade  Lake.  Both  are  in  clear 
view  at  the  same  time,  while  to  the  west  we  can  hear  the 
joyous  song  of  Cascade  Falls  in  its  grand  leap  down  from 
the  foot  of  the  snow-banks  of  Mt.  Tallac  into  the  tree-clad 
stream-course  below. 

Now  the  road  brings  us  almost  directly  above  the  Lake, 
with  a  rapid  slope  down,  covered  with  dainty  trees  and 
shrubs  of  recent  growth.     From  here  we  gain  a  fine  view 


THE  WISHBONE  AUTOMOBILE  ROUTE       135 

of  the  south  end  of  the  lakeshore.  Tallac,  the  Grove,  Bijou, 
Al  Tahoe  and  clear  across  to  Lakeside,  with  the  deep  green 
of  the  meadows  above,  and  the  snowy  crowns  of  Freel's, 
Job's,  and  Job's  sister,  with  Monument  Peak  combine  to 
give  the  proper  setting  to  the  Lake. 

Soon  we  are  racing  across  the  level  to  the  Fish  Hatchery, 
between  avenues  of  quaking  aspens  and  young  tamaracks 
and  pines.  Suddenly  we  come  upon  a  mired  car,  the  driver 
of  which  had  just  crossed  the  Sierras  from  Placerville,  with 
little  or  no  difficulty,  but  coming  to  a  soft  piece  of  road  here 
when  going  a  trifle  faster  than  he  should,  and  the  side  of 
the  road  having  caught  a  lot  of  snow-water,  he  had  bogged 
and  was  working  like  a  beaver  to  extricate  himself.  We 
had  a  stout  rope  along  and  it  was  the  work  of  two  or  three 
minutes  to  get  him  out  and  we  again  pushed  forward,  grati- 
fied and  smiling  at  the  warmly  expressed  thanks  of  himself 
and  his  three  happy  women-folks  who  were  enjoying  their 
first  trip  into  the  Tahoe  country,  and  already  confessing  their 
complete  subjection  to  its  thrall. 

Passing  the  Hatchery  we  were  only  a  few  more  minutes 
in  reaching  Tallac  House,  the  first  to  complete  the  auto- 
trip  this  season.  Except  for  a  few  short  stretches  of 
scarcely  completed  road  it  is  in  excellent  condition,  and  the 
road  gang  now  at  work  will  have  all  the  rough  portions 
smoothed  down  in  a  few  days. 

It  should  here  be  noted  that  side  trips  may  be  made  in 
automobiles  to  Glen  Alpine  Springs  and  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge. 
Both  resorts  use  their  own  automobile  stages  daily  during 
the  season,  hence  keep  the  roads  in  good  condition. 

We  made  the  return  trip  from  Tallac  House  to  the  Tav- 
ern in  two  hours  exactly.  The  distance  is  26  miles.  The 
road  gang  had  already  put  a  bridge  over  the  place  that  had 
delayed  us  on  coming  out,  and  the  road  throughout  was 
easy  and  safe.     Naturally  it  is  not  as  easy  to  negotiate  as  a 


136      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

San  Francisco  boulevard,  but  with  the  wheel  in  the  hands 
of  a  careful  chauffeur  there  is  perfect  safety  and  a  trip  that 
need  give  not  a  moment's  fear  to  the  most  timorous. 

FROM    TALLAC   TO    SACRAMENTO,    BY   THE    PLACERVILLE 
ROUTE,    I08    MILES 

This  is  practically  the  first  historic  route  into  California, 
for,  as  I  have  shown  in  the  chapter  on  Fremont's  Explora- 
tions, it  was  the  one  the  Pathfinder  practically  followed  on 
his  memorable  trip  that  led  to  the  discovery  of  Lake  Tahoe. 

Hence,  when  the  gold  excitement  attracted  its  thousands 
to  California,  many  of  the  argonauts  took  this  road,  follow- 
ing the  Humboldt  River  and  turning  south  at  the  Humboldt 
"  Sink,"  crossing  to  the  Carson  "  Sink  "  and  then  ascending 
to  the  headwaters  of  the  Carson  River,  over  into  Hope  Val- 
ley and  thence  down  to  Strawberry  Valley  and  on  to  the 

^ mines.     This  was   the  origin   of  the  road,   and   it  was  in 

steady  and  continuous  use  until  the  startling  news  of  the 
discovery  of  the  Comstock  Lode  in  Virginia  City  aroused  the 
mining  world.  From  every  camp  in  California  rude  and 
stalwart  men  eagerly  set  forth  to  reach  the  new  Camp.  It 
was  a  genuine  stampede.  The  chief  question  was:  "Will 
the  new  Camp  make  good  ?  "  It  answered  this  question  by 
transcending  the  expectations  of  the  most  sanguine.  Silver 
and  gold  were  taken  out  in  fabulous  quantities.  Chunks  of 
almost  pure  native  silver,  weighing  scores  of  pounds,  were 
hewed  out  of  the  chambers  where  they  were  found,  and  men 
went  wild  with  excitement.  Houses  sprang  up  over-night. 
A  vast  population  soon  clung  to  the  slopes  of  Mt.  Davidson. 
Mining  and  milling  machinery  was  needed,  and  demanded 
with  tremendous  urgency,  to  reap  the  richer  harvest.  There 
was  no  railroad,  and  the  old  Emigrant  Road  was  not  in 
condition  to  meet  the  needs.  Few  people  can  realize  the 
wild  excitement  that  reigned  and  the  string  of  teams,  men 


THE  WISHBONE  AUTOMOBILE  ROUTE       137 

riding  on  horseback,  or  afoot,  stage-coaches,  freight  wagons, 
that  poured  in  endless  procession  over  the  road.  Nothing 
like  it  has  been  seen  since,  except  during  the  Klondike  rush. 
As  soon,  however,  as  it  was  possible  to  secure  the  proper 
authority  newer  and  easier  grades  were  surveyed  and  pri- 
vate individuals  undertook  to  build  certain  sections  of  the 
road  under  the  condition  that  they  were  to  be  granted  the 
right  to  collect  toll  for  so  many  years.  These  rights  have 
long  since  lapsed,  and  the  road  is  now  a  part  of  the  excellent 
system  of  El  Dorado  County,  which,  though  a  mountain 
county,  boasts  some  of  the  best  roads  in  California. 

Tallac  to  Echo,  113/2  Miles.  Leaving  Tallac,  an  easy  and 
pleasant  eight-mile  run  on  almost  level  roads  through  Tallac 
Meadows  brings  one  to  Celios,  once  Myers*  Station  (6500 
feet).  Now  begins  the  upgrade,  winding  its  way  up  the 
mountain  side  to  the  crest  from  which  Starr  King  wrote  his 
exquisite  description,  elsewhere  quoted.  This  is  one  of  the 
superb  outlook-points  where  the  full  sweep  of  Lake  and  en- 
circling mountains  is  in  full  and  complete  view. 

After  a  few  minutes  for  gazing  the  journey  is  resumed, 
soon  crossing  a  bridge,  near  which  stand  the  remnants  of  the 
old  toll-house.  On  the  right  a  foot-trail  or  bridle-path  leads 
to  Glen  Alpine.  A  few  miles  of  fairly  rapid  descent  and 
Echo  is  reached,  49^  miles  from  Placerville. 

The  stream  here,  during  the  snow-melting  season  must 
be  a  dashing,  roaring,  sparkling  mass  of  foam,  for  it  is  a 
bowlder-strewn  rocky  way,  suggesting  the  wild  stream  it 
becomes  when  the  snows  melt  and  spring's  freshets  come. 

EcJio  to  Strawberry,  7  Miles.  The  next  mile  and  a  half 
is  a  rapid  descent,  for  elevation  declines  five  hundred  feet, 
ere  we  reach  Phillips,  near  which,  in  Audrian  Lake,  is  the 
chief  source  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  American  River. 

The  Water  Company  that  controls  the  flow  has  here  tam- 
pered with  primitive  physiography,  in  that  it  has  cut  a  tun- 


138      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

nel  or  channel  from  the  Echo  Lakes,  tapping  their  water 
supply  and  conveying  it  to  Audrian  Lake.  Hence  strictly 
speaking  the  Echo  Lakes  are  now  the  headwaters  of  the 
South  Fork. 

Soon  we  pass  Hay  Press  Meadows,  so  called  from  the 
fact  that  hay  was  cut  here  in  the  old  stage-coach  days,  baled 
with  an  old-fashioned  press,  and  sold  for  $90  to  $100  per 
ton,  after  being  hauled  to  Virginia  City. 

Down  we  go  into  Strawberry  Valley,  where  42^^  miles 
from  Placerville,  we  reach  Strawberry,  at  5700  feet  elevation. 
This  used  to  be  a  noted  stopping-place  in  the  olden  days, 
sometimes  the  whole  flat  area  being  covered  with  loaded 
wagons  bound  for  the  mines. 

There  is  a  rugged  majesty  about  this  Valley  that  has 
always  made  its  impression  on  men.  To  the  right  is  the 
southern  end  of  the  Crystal  Range,  and  to  the  left  the 
Yosemite-like  cliff  known  as  Lover's  Leap,  6985  feet  eleva- 
tion. As  the  station  at  Strawberry  is  5700  feet,  this  cliff  is 
1285  feet  in  sheer  ascent.  Leading  up  it  are  strange  col- 
umnar towers  and  structures  of  Egyptian  appearance  that 
remind  us  of  those  lines  of  Joaquin  Miller's: 

Great  massive  rocks  that  near  us  lay, 
Deep  nestled  In  the  grass  untrod 

By  aught  save  wild  beasts  of  the  wood  — 

Great,  massive,  squared,  and  chisel'd  stone, 
Like  columns  that  had  toppled  down 
From  temple  dome  or  tower  crown, 

Along  some  drifted,  silent  way 

Of  desolate  and  desert  town 

Built  by  the  children  of  the  Sun. 

We  pass  under  the  great  cliff,  and  past  a  glacially-polished 
dome  on  the  left.  The  cliff  is  all  cross-hatched  and  seamed 
with  infiltrations  of  quartz.  Ahead  of  us  to  the  right  is  a 
canyon  that  is  the  southern  extension  of  Desolation  Valley. 


THE  WISHBONE  AUTOMOBILE  ROUTE       139 

Strawberry  to  Ky burgs,  lO  Miles.  A  few  miles  below 
Strawberry  we  pass  Georgetown  Junction  (where  the  road 
from  Georgetown  enters  the  main  road),  and  ten  miles 
brings  us  to  Kyburgs,  4000  feet  elevation,  the  canyon  nar- 
rowing as  we  descend.  On  the  right  we  pass  Sugar  Loaf 
(65CX)  feet). 

At  Kyburgs  the  water  is  taken  out  for  the  domestic  and 
irrigation  water-supply  of  Placerville  —  8000  inches  of 
water.  The  station  is  located  at  a  break  in  the  mountains 
where  a  cone-shaped  rock,  covered  with  trees,  is  a  striking 
feature. 

Kyburgs,  Through  Riverton,  to  Pacific  House,  14  Miles. 
Passing  the  South  Fork  of  the  American  on  the  left,  nine 
and  a  half  miles  brings  us  to  Riverton,  a  charming  river 
resort  where  many  visitors  stop  during  the  season  for  a  day 
or  a  week,  as  this  is  a  noted  center  for  fishing  and  hunt- 
ing. Here  we  cross  over  an  excellent  bridge,  surrounded 
by  a  mountain  amphitheater  lined  with  trees,  and  our  road 
follows  the  course  of  the  bowlder-strewn  river-bed.  Yonder 
is  the  scene  of  a  noted  "  hold-up  "  in  the  old  mining  days. 

If  we  cared  to  go  over  the  files  of  the  newspapers  of  the 
days  when  bullion  was  being  shipped  daily  by  stage  to  Plac- 
erville, how  many  accounts  might  we  not  find  of  "  hold-ups  " 
by  daring  "  road-agents."  And  it  does  not  take  much  imag- 
ination to  picture  in  this  secluded  spot  or  that,  the  sudden 
appearance  of  a  masked  bandit,  gun  in  hand,  and  to  hear 
the  sharp  quick  commands,  "Halt!  and  Hands  up!"  and 
to  hear  the  "  squeesch  "  of  the  brake  on  the  wheel,  to  see 
the  hands  of  driver,  express-messenger,  and  passengers  go  up 
in  helpless  anger  and  furious  impotence. 

Then  the  "Stand  down  here!"  or  "Come  off  of  that 
quick,  and  line  up  alongside !  "  and  the  immediate  obedience 
of  all  concerned,  and  the  sharp  "  keep  them  hands  up,  gentle- 


I40      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

men,  or  somebody'll  be  gettin'  hurt,"  or  perhaps  a  fierce  im- 
precation, if  the  bandit  was  less  of  the  "  Gentleman  George  " 
type  than  has  so  often  been  described. 

And  what  a  scene  it  would  make  for  an  artist  —  the  most 
indignant  passenger  of  them  all  made  to  hold  the  hat  and 
collect  the  "  swag,"  as  the  alert-eyed  bandit  stands  by,  gun 
in  hand,  ready  to  shoot  down  the  first  person  who  makes  any 
show  of  resistance! 

Then  the  permission  given  to  get  aboard,  accompanied  by 
the  rude  order:  "Throw  out  that  express-box,  and  drive 
on,  and  don't  look  this  way  or  some  one'U  have  a  hole  blown 
through  the  top  of  his  head !  "  and  the  mixture  of  dejection 
and  relief  shown  in  the  faces  of  driver,  messenger  and  pass- 
engers as  the  coach  rolled  on  again. 

What  a  panorama  of  quickly  acted  scenes  it  must  have 
been,  and  how  often  it  occurred  on  this  road!  Not  even 
history  has  recorded  a  half  of  the  times  it  happened. 

Soon,  almost  hidden  in  the  dense  foliage  of  the  tree- 
lined  slopes,  we  pass  Esmeralda  Fall,  whose  waters  dash  in 
foam  over  6o  feet,  to  unite  with  the  river  far  beneath. 

As  we  near  Pacific  House,  4^^  miles  further  on,  we  come 
to  where  the  new  road  diverges  a  little  from  the  old  one. 
It  used  to  descend  to  the  river,  but  we  preserve  a  fairly  even 
grade,  solidly  built,  wide  and  well  kept. 

Pacific  House  to  Placerville,  iSj/^  Miles.  Then  for  a 
mile  or  so  the  road  hangs  over  the  yawning  chasm  of  the 
river.  It  is  wide  and  in  fine  condition  so  we  dash  along 
to  where,  on  the  up  trip,  the  first  glimpse  is  gained  of  the 
Crystal  Range,  its  two  chief  peaks,  Pyramid  and  Agassiz, 
dominating  the  landscape  from  this  side  as  they  do  from 
Desolation  Valley  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  range. 

In  nine  more  miles  Camino  is  reached,  through  clusters 
of  pines,  with  perfectly  level  stretches  for  speeding  and  — 
dreaming.     One's  mind  unconsciously  goes  back  to  the  old 


THE  WISHBONE  AUTOMOBILE  ROUTE       141 

days  and  he  sees  as  in  a  moving-picture  film  the  "  days  of  '49." 
For  this  road  is  a  road  of  memories.  One  shuts  his  eyes 
and  muses,  and  immediately  there  troops  before  him  a  rush- 
ing, bustling,  hurrying  throng.  These  were  the  modern 
argonauts,  the  seekers  for  the  Golden  Fleece: 

Great  horny-handed  men  and  tall; 
Men  blown  from  many  a  barren  land 

Beyond  the  sea ;  men  red  of  hand, 

And  men  in  love,  and  men  in  debt, 
Like  David's  men  in  battle  set  — 
And  every  man  somehow  a  man. 

They  push'd  the  mailed  wood  aside, 

They  toss'd  the  forest  like  a  toy, 
That  grand  forgotten  race  of  men  — 
The  boldest  band  that  vet  has  been 
Together  since  the  Siege  of  Troy. 

Some  carried  packs  on  their  backs,  with  pick  and  shovel, 
drill  and  pan.  Others  rode,  leading  their  burden-bearing 
burros  or  mules.  Wagon  after  wagon  creaked  along,  laden 
to  the  full  with  supplies,  food,  or  machinery. 

As  we  push  along  and  come  to  the  river,  Joaquin  Miller's 
words  make  the  memory  pictures  for  us: 

I  look  along  each  gaping  gorge, 
I  hear  a  thousand  sounding  strokes 

Like  giants  rending  giant  oaks, 

Or  brawny  Vulcan  at  his  forge; 
I  see  pickaxes  flash  and  shine; 
Hear  great  wheels  whirling  in  a  mine. 

Here  winds  a  thick  and  yellow  thread, 

A  moss'd  and  silver  stream  instead; 
And  trout  that  leap'd  its  riffled  tide 
Have  turn'd  upon  their  sides  and  died. 

Below  Camino  we  pass  near  to  Pino  Grande,  where  the 
great  cable  railway  carries  loaded  cars  of  logs  across  the  deep 
canyon  of  the  American  River. 

Rapidly  we  reach  Smith's  Flat,  4  miles,  a  famous  mining- 
camp  in  the  days  gone  by,  but  now  consisting  of  a  general 


142      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

store,  a  few  houses,  and  a  gnarled  old  log  fashioned  into  a 
glorious  water-trough  fit  for  the  Vikings. 

Three  more  miles  and  Placerville  is  reached,  the  quaint 
old  reminder  of  "  the  days  of  '49,  the  days  of  old,  the  days 
of  gold,"  when  men  flocked  to  California  from  all  parts 
of  the  earth  eager  with  the  lust  for  gold.  In  those  memor- 
able days  it  was  called  "  Hangtown,"  a  name  some  of  its 
present-day  citizens  would  fain  forget,  oblivious,  in  their  own 
small-mindedness  that  they  are  neither  responsible  for  its 
history  nor  its  nomenclature. 

Built  primarily  in  the  somewhat  shut-in  walls  of  a  small 
canyon,  it  winds  and  curves  around  in  a  happy-go-lucky 
fashion,  and  when  the  canyon  widens  out,  spills  over  into 
irregular  streets  and  up  and  down  hills  that  were  once  clad 
with  pines,  firs,  spruces  and  junipers.  That  wealth  and 
prosperity  have  smiled  upon  it  in  late  years  is  evidenced  by 
its  comfortable  lawn-girdled  homes,  its  thriving  orchards, 
its  active  business  streets,  and  its  truly  beautiful,  because 
simple,  chaste  and  dignified,  county  court-house. 

Placerville  to  Sacramento,  47  Miles.  This  is  a  well- 
known  road,  via  Diamond  Springs,  23^  miles;  El  Dorado, 
6  miles;  Shingle  Springs,   ii   miles,  and  Folsom,  25   miles. 

The  elevation  at  Tallac  is  6225  feet;  at  Echo,  7500  feet; 
Strawberry,  5700  feet;  Kyburgs,  4000  feet;  Riverton,  3300 
feet;  Pacific  House,  3400  feet;  Sportsman's  Hall,  3600  feet; 
Camino,  3000  feet;  Smith's  Flat,  2250  feet;  Placerville, 
1830  feet;  El  Dorado,  16 10  feet;  Folsom,  198  feet,  and 
Sacramento,   32   feet. 

A  well  equipped  auto  stage  is  run  daily  between  Tallac 
House  and  Placerville.  Experienced  and  careful  drivers  and 
first  class  cars  only  are  used.  They  are  owned  by  the  Rich- 
ardson Garage,  of  Pasadena,  Calif.,  long  known  to  the  exact- 
ing population  of  that  city  as  a  thoroughly  reliable,  prompt 
and  efficient  house. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

TAHOE   TAVERN 

SWINGING  around  to  the  south  from  the  course  of 
the  Truckee  River  on  to  the  Lake,  the  railway  de- 
posits the  traveler  at  Tahoe  Tavern,  preeminently  the 
chief  resort  for  those  who  demand  luxurious  comfort  m  all 
its  varied  manifestations.  Yet  at  the  outset  let  it  be  clearly 
understood  that  it  is  not  a  fashionable  resort,  in  the  sense 
that  every  one,  men  and  women  alike,  must  dress  in  fashion- 
able garb  to  be  welcomed  and  made  at  home.  It  is  a  place  of 
common  sense  and  rational  freedom.  If  one  comes  in  from  a 
hunting  or  fishing  trip  at  dinner  time,  he  is  expected  to  enter 
the  dining  room  as  he  is.  If  one  has  taken  a  walk  in  his 
white  flannels  he  is  as  welcome  to  a  dance  in  the  Casino,  the 
dining-room,  or  the  social-hall  as  if  he  wore  the  most  con- 
ventional evening  dress.  Indeed,  visitors  are  urged  to  bring 
their  old  clothes  that  they  may  indulge  to  the  full  their  pen- 
chants for  mountain-climbing,  ridingjrmying,  fishing,  horse- 
back-riding, botanizing  in  the  woods,  or  any  other  out-of- 
door  occupation  where  old  clothes  are  the  only  suitable  ones. 

The  building  itself  is  completely  embowered  in  pine,  cedar, 
spruce  and  firs  of  differing  ages,  sizes  and  qualities  of  color. 
Though  far  enough  from  the  Lake  to  allow  of  a  large  un- 
trimmed  grass-plot  where  innumerable  swing  seats,  reclining 
chairs,  "  lazy  rests,"  etc.,  invite  to  lounging  and  loafing,  the 
trees  have  been  so  trimmed  out  as  to  give  exquisite  glimpses 
of  the  dazzling  blue  of  the  water  from  every  hand. 

143 


144      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

The  Tavern  is  especially  appropriate  to  its  surroundings. 
It  is  three  full  stories  high,  with  many  gables  relieving  the 
regularity  of  the  roof,  which  is  steep-pitched,  to  throw  off  the 
winter's  snows.  The  whole  structure  is  covered  with 
shingles,  stained  or  oiled  to  a  dark  brown,  and  as  climbing 
and  clinging  vines  have  wreathed  themselves  about  every 
corner,  and  up  many  posts  of  the  veranda,  and  there  is  a 
wealth  of  cultivated  wild  flowers  banked  up  in  beds  around 
it,  nothing  could  be  more  pleasing  and  harmonious.  Roads, 
walks  and  trails  radiate  from  the  Tavern  in  all  directions, 
except  directly  across  the  Lake,  and  numerous  boats  and 
launches  make  this  as  accessible  as  any  other  direction.  Near 
enough  to  be  interesting  is  the  wharf,  with  its  daily  bustle 
of  the  arrival  and  departure  of  trains,  launches  and  steamers. 

For  all  the  indoor  sports  a  Casino  has  been  erected,  far 
enough  away  so  that  the  music,  dancing,  the  sharp  clangor 
of  bowling,  the  singing  of  extemporized  glee-clubs,  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  audiences  at  amateur  theatricals  and  the  like 
do  not  disturb  the  peaceful  slumbers  of  those  who  retire 
early.  While  Tahoe  Tavern  itself  is  sui  generis  in  that  it 
is  the  most  wonderful  combination  of  primitive  simplicity 
with  twentieth  century  luxury,  the  Casino  is  even  more  re- 
markable. Its  interior  finish  is  the  work  of  a  nature  artist. 
Its  porches  immediately  overlook  the  Lake,  and  when  one 
has  wearied  of  dancing  there  is  a  witchery  as  rare  and  subtle 
as  it  is  delightful  to  sit  in  the  subdued  light  overlooking 
the  ripples  of  the  moonlit  water,  sipping  some  liquid  refresh- 
ment, eating  an  ice  or  chatting  with  a  suitable  partner. 

Here  a  fine  orchestra  discourses  sweet  music,  moving  pic- 
tures are  regularly  shown,  lectures  and  concerts  occasionally 
provided,  besides  all  the  conveniences  for  private  card-parties 
and  other  pleasures  that  fashionable  visitors  expect  for  their 
entertainment. 

Ruskin  has  somewhere  brought  out  the  idea  in  his  finest 


I 


BALLROOM  IN  THE  CASINO,  TAHOE  TAVERN 


TAHOE  TAVERN  FROM  LAKE  TAHOE 


TAHOE  TAVERN  145 

phraseology  that  nowhere  can  man  so  readily  worship  God 
as  in  the  presence  of  the  most  beautiful  of  His  works  in 
Nature.  This  is  readily  apparent  at  Tahoe,  hence  the  sum- 
mer visitors  and  others  of  religious  trend  will  delight  to 
learn  that  churches  for  both  Catholic  and  Episcopal  worship- 
ers have  been  erected  not  far  from  the  Tavern.  The 
Catholic  Church  was  dedicated  Sept.  10,  191 1.  It  has  a 
seating  capacity  of  a  hundred  and  seventy-five.  Its  location 
was  chosen  with  an  eye  to  the  beautiful,  being  on  Tahoe 
Heights,  and  Is  less  than  fifteen  minutes'  walk  from  the 
Tavern. 

The  Episcopal  "  Church  of  the  Transfiguration  "  is  unique 
in  that  it  is  an  open  air  building,  the  altar  only  being  roofed. 
Towering  pines  stand  as  aisles  and  the  vaulted  ceiling  is  the 
clear  blue  dome  of  heaven.  Rustic  and  simple,  it  harmonizes 
exquisitely  with  its  surroundings,  and  strangely  insensible 
must  that  worshiper  be  who,  as  he  kneels  in  this  Nature 
shrine,  and  the  organ  peals  forth  its  solemn  notes,  with  a 
wonderful  accompaniment  of  hundreds  of  singing  birds,  and 
the  ascending  incense  of  a  thousand  flowers,  does  not  feel 
his  own  soul  lifted  into  a  higher  and  more  spiritual  mental 
frame. 

One  of  the  chief  troubles  about  a  hotel  like  Tahoe  Tavern 
is  that  it  is  too  tempting,  too  luxurious,  too  seductive  to  the 
senses.  The  cool,  delicious  breezes  from  the  Lake  make  the 
nights  heavenly  for  sleep.  With  Sancho  Panza  we  cry 
aloud :  "  Blessed  be  the  man  that  invented  sleep,"  and  we 
add :  "  Blessed  be  the  man  that  invented  cool  nights  to 
sleep  in."  And  I  have  no  fault  to  find  with  the  full  in- 
dulgence in  sleep.  It  is  good  for  the  weary  man  or  woman. 
It  is  well  to  make  up  arrears,  to  pay  oneself  the  accumulated 
debts  of  insomnia  and  tossing  and  restlessness  with  an  abun- 
dance of  calm,  dreamless,  restful  sleep.  Nay,  not  only  would 
I  have  men  claim  their  arrearage,  but  lay  in  a  surplus  stock 


146      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

against  future  emergencies,  future  drafts  upon  their  bank 
account  of  "  restorer." 

Nor  would  I  find  any  fault  with  the  allurements  of  the 
Lake,  either  for  swimming,  boating,  "  launching,"  canoeing 
or  fishing.  Indulge  them  all  to  your  heart's  desire  and  you 
will  not  only  be  none  the  worse,  but  immeasurably  better  for 
every  hour  of  yielding.  A  plunge  every  morning  is  stimulat- 
ing, invigorating  and  jolly.  It  clears  the  brain,  sets  the  blood 
racing  up  and  down  one's  spine,  arms,  fingers,  legs  and  toes, 
and  sweeps  the  cobwebs  out  of  the  brain.  A  row  is  equally 
good.  It  pulls  on  the  muscles  of  the  lower  back,  as  well 
as  the  arms,  chest  and  shoulders.  It  drives  away  Bright's 
disease  and  banishes  asthma  and  lung  trouble.  It  makes  one 
breathe  deep  and  long  and  strong,  and  when  inbreathing,  one 
can  take  in  power  from  Tahoe's  waters,  forests,  mountains 
and  snow-fields.  It  means  a  purifying  of  the  blood,  a  clear- 
ing of  the  brain,  a  sending  of  a  fuller  supply  of  gastric  juices 
to  the  stomach,  of  digestive  sauces  to  the  palate,  and  a  cor- 
responding stimulus  to  the  whole  body,  which  now  responds 
with  vim,  energy,  buoyancy  and  exuberance  to  all  calls  made 
upon  it  by  the  spirit. 

So  with  walking  through  the  woods,  by  the  Lake,  along 
the  River  Trail,  up  the  mountains.  The  results  are  the 
same  until  the  man  who  hates  and  despises  the  poets  shouts 
out  with  glee  and  exclaims:  "Them's  my  sentiments!" 
when  you  throw  out  with  fervor  such  lines  as: 

Oh!  the  wild  joys  of  living!  the  leaping  from  rock  up  to  rock, 
The   strong   rending  of   boughs   from  the   fir-tree,   the   cool   silver 

shock 
Of  the  plunge  in  a  pool's  living  water.  .  .  . 
How  good  is  man's  life,  the  mere  living!  how  fit  to  employ 
All  the  heart  and  the  soul  and  the  senses  forever  in  joy! 

While  all  the  conventional  amusements  are  provided  at 
Tahoe  Tavern  a  large  number  of  the  guests,  like  myself,  find 


TAHOE  TAVERN  147 

much  pleasure  in  feeding  and  making  friends  with  the  chip- 
munks, which  have  been  so  fostered  and  befriended  that 
there  are  scores  of  them,  most  of  them  so  fearless  as  to  climb 
into  the  laps,  eat  from  the  hands,  run  over  the  shoulders,  and 
even  explore  the  pockets  of  those  who  bring  nuts  and  other 
dainties  for  their  delectation.  Children  and  adults,  even 
gray-haired  grandpas  and  grandmas,  love  these  tiny  morsels 
of  animation,  with  their  quick,  active,  nervous  movements, 
their  simulations  of  fear  and  their  sudden  bursts  of  half- 
timorous  confidence.  With  big  black  eyes,  how  they  squat 
and  watch,  or  stand,  immovable  on  their  hind  legs,  their  little 
forepaws  held  as  if  in  petition,  solemnly,  seriously,  steadily 
watch,  watch,  watching,  until  they  are  satisfied  either  that  you 
are  all  right,  or  are  to  be  shunned.  For,  with  a  whisk  of  the 
tail,  they  either  dart  towards  you,  or  run  in  the  other  direc- 
tion and  hide  in  the  brush,  climb  with  amazing  speed  up  a 
tree,  or  rush  into  their  holes  in  the  ground. 

Some  of  them  are  such  babies  that  they  cannot  be  many 
months  old,  and  they  feel  the  friendly  atmosphere  into  which 
they  have  been  born.  And  it  is  an  interesting  sight  to  see  a 
keen,  stern,  active  business  man  from  "  the  city  "  saunter  with 
his  wife  after  lunch  or  dinner,  sit  down  on  the  steps  leading 
down  to  the  water's  edge,  or  on  a  tree  stump,  or  squat  down 
on  his  haunches  anywhere  on  the  walk,  the  lawn,  or  the 
veranda,  fish  some  nuts  out  of  his  pocket  and  begin  to  squeak 
with  his  lips  to  attract  the  chipmunks.  Sometimes  it  is  a 
learned  advocate  of  the  law,  or  a  banker,  or  a  wine-merchant, 
or  the  manager  of  a  large  commission-house.  It  seems  to 
make  no  difference.  The  "  chips  "  catch  them  all,  and  every 
one  delights  in  making  friends  with  them. 

Here  is  a  tiny  little  chap,  watching  me  as  I  loll  on  the 
stairs.  His  black,  twinkling  eye  fixes  itself  on  me.  He 
is  making  sure.  Suddenly  he  darts  toward  my  outstretched 
fingers  where  a  peanut  is  securely  held.     He  seizes  it  with 


148      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

his  sharp  teeth,  but  I  hold  on.  Then  with  his  little  paws 
he  presses  and  pushes,  while  he  hangs  on  to  the  nut  with 
a  grip  that  will  not  be  denied.  If  he  doesn't  get  it  all,  he 
succeeds  in  snapping  off  a  piece  and  then,  either  darting  off, 
with  a  quick  whisk  of  his  tail,  to  enjoy  it  in  his  chosen  seclu- 
sion, or,  squatting  down  on  his  hind  legs,  he  holds  the  de- 
licious morsel  between  his  fore-paws  and  chews  away  with  a 
rapidity  as  astonishing  as  it  is  interesting  and  amusing. 

Now  a  fat  old  fellow  —  he  looks  like  a  grandpa  in  age 
—  comes  up.  He  is  equally  suspicious  at  first,  takes  his 
preliminary  reconnaissance,  darts  forward  and  just  about 
reaches  you,  when  he  darts  away  again.  Only  for  a  mo- 
ment however.  On  he  comes,  seizes  the  nut,  and  eats  it 
then  and  there,  or  darts  off  with  inconceivable  rapidity,  up 
the  tree  trunk  to  a  branch  twenty,  forty  feet  up,  and  then 
sits  in  most  cunning  and  cute  posture,  but  in  just  as  big  a 
hurry  and  in  equally  excitable  fashion  to  eat  his  lunch  as  if 
he  were  within  reach. 

Sometimes  half  a. dozen  or  more  of  them,  big  and  little, 
will  surround  you.  One  leaps  upon  your  knee,  another 
comes  into  your  lap,  while  another  runs  all  over  your  back 
and  shoulders.  Now  and  again  two  aim  at  the  same  time 
for  the  same  nut,  and  then,  look  out.  They  are  selfish  little 
beggars  and  there  is  an  immense  amount  of  human  nature  in 
such  tiny  creatures.  The  bigger  one  wants  the  morsel  and 
chases  the  smaller  one  away,  and  he  is  so  mad  about  it  and 
gets  so  in  earnest  that  sometimes  he  chases  the  other  fellow 
so  far  that  he  forgets  what  it  was  all  about.  He  loses  the 
nut  himself,  but,  anyhow,  he  has  prevented  the  other  fellow 
from  getting  it.     How  truly  human! 

Then  the  younger  one,  or  the  smaller  one,  or  the  older 
one,  will  whisk  himself  up  a  tree,  perch  on  a  branch  and 
begin  to  scold,  or  he  climbs  to  the  top  of  a  stump,  or  a  rock, 


TAHOE  TAVERN  149 

or  merely  stands  upright  without  any  foreign  aid,  and  how  he 
can  "Chip,  chip,  chip,  chip!"  His  piercing  little  shriek 
makes  many  a  stranger  to  his  voice  and  ways  wonder  what 
little  bird  it  is  that  has  so  harsh  a  cry,  and  he  keeps  at  it  so 
persistently  that  again  you  say,  How  human!  and  you  won- 
der whether  it  is  husband  scolding  wife,  or  wife  husband,  or 
—  any  of  the  thousand  and  one  persons  who,  because  they 
have  the  power,  use  it  as  a  right  to  scold  the  other  thousand 
and  one  poor  creatures  who  have  to  submit,  or  think  they 
have  (which  is  pretty  much  the  same  thing). 

These  proceedings  at  Tahoe  Tavern  are  diversified  by  the 
presence  of  a  friendly  bluejay.  He  is  one  of  the  smartest 
birds  in  the  world.  Some  relation,  no  doubt,  to  the  bird 
told  of  by  Mark  Twain  in  his  Tramp  Abroad.  This  bluejay 
has  watched  the  visitors  and  the  chipmunks  until  he  has  be- 
come extra  wise.  He  has  noticed  that  the  latter  toil  not 
neither  do  they  spin  and  yet  neither  Solomon  Levi  nor  Kelly 
feed  more  sumptuously  or  more  often  than  do  they,  simply 
because  they  have  succeeded  in  beguiling  the  hearts  of  the 
guests  who  are  so  bored  with  each  other  that  association  with 
the  "  lower  "  animals  is  a  great  relief.  So  he  has  started 
the  "  friendly  chipmunk  "  role.  He  stifles  his  raucous  cry, 
he  puts  on  a  shy,  timid  and  yet  friendly  demeanor.  He 
flies  conveniently  near,  and  gives  forth  a  gentle  note,  asking, 
please,  your  kind  and  favorable  attention  to  the  fact  that  he 
is  a  bluejay.  As  soon  as  he  sees  your  eye  upon  him,  he  hops 
a  little  nearer;  not  too  near,  however,  either  to  mislead  you 
or  to  put  himself  in  your  hands,  but  just  near  enough  to 
tempt  you  to  try  to  tempt  him.  You  hold  out  a  nut,  and 
then,  with  a  quick  dart  and  a  sharp  peck  with  a  bill  trained 
to  certain  and  sure  work,  your  thumb  and  finger  lose  that 
which  they  held,  and  Mr.  Bluejay  is  eating  it  in  perfect 
security  well  beyond  your  reach.     Oh,  he  is  a  fascinating 


I50      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

creature  is  this  bunch  of  beautiful  blue  feathers  decorating 
the  harshest  voice  of  all  birddom  in  the  region  of  Lake 
Tahoe. 

But  birds,  squirrels,  flowers,  scenery,  sports,  worship,  fine 
music,  the  best  kind  of  food,  "  air  the  angel's  breathe,"  and 
sleep  recuperative  enough  to  revivify  the  old  and  decrepit, 
fishing,  rowing,  swimming  and  the  like  are  not  all  that 
need  fill  one's  days  at  Tahoe  Tavern. 

Hike  ^  out,  afoot  or  horseback.  Take  the  trails.  Get 
Bob  Watson,  or  one  of  his  under-studies,  to  pilot  j^ou  to 
Watson  Peak  and  lake,  go  to  Ellis,  Squaw  or  a  score  of  other 
peaks,  visit  the  various  Sierran  lakes,  or  take  a  camping  out 
or  hunting  trip  to  Hell  Hole,  the  Yosemite,  or  any  one  of 
the  scenic  spots,  one,  two,  five,  or  ten  days  away.  Then, 
my  word  for  it,  you  will  return  home  "  a  new  man,"  life 
will  put  on  a  new  meaning,  and  sensations  long  since  lost 
will  come  back  with  unthought  of  force,  for  you  will  have 
"  regained  your  youth  " —  that  dream  of  the  old  of  all  the 
ages. 

There  are  a  number  of  interesting  walks,  drives  and  auto- 
mobile trips  which  may  be  taken  from  the  Tavern,  besides 
the  lakeshore  walks  which  are  always  interesting.  Indian 
Camp  is  half  a  mile  away ;  Tahoe  City,  a  little  further,  and 
here  the  interesting  Fremont  howitzer,  to  whose  history  I 
have  devoted  a  separate  chapter,  may  be  seen  ;  Tavern  Spring, 
a  beautiful  walk  through  the  woods,  one  and  a  quarter  miles ; 
the  Fish  Hatchery,  a  mile  away,  where  all  the  processes  of 
hatching  various  kinds  of  trout  before  they  are  distributed 
to  the  different  lakes  and  streams  may  be  witnessed. 

To  those  who  prefer  longer  walks,   or  horseback  rides, 

*  This  word,  slang  or  not,  is  finely  expressive,  and  is  already 
fully  established  in  the  accepted  nomenclature  of  mountain  climb- 
ers. 


TAHOE  TAVERN  151 

there  are  the  Logging  Camp,  three  and  a  third  miles;  Idle- 
wyld,  four  miles;  Stanford  Rock,  five  miles;  Ward  Peak, 
six  miles;  Blackwood  Creek  Dairy,  six  miles;  Carnelian 
Bay,  six  miles;  and  Twin  Peaks,  seven  miles.  Several  of 
these  interesting  places  can  be  reached  also  by  automobile. 

An  especially  delightful  walk  or  horseback  ride  is  by  the 
Truckee  River  Trail  to  Deer  Park  Inn,  six  and  a  half  miles, 
and  thence  two  miles  farther  to  Five  Lakes,  near  which  the 
waters  divide,  one  stream  flowing  into  the  Rubicon,  thence 
into  the  Sacramento  and  out  by  the  Golden  Gate  into  the 
Pacific  Ocean;  the  other  by  Bear  Creek  into  the  Truckee 
River,  thence  into  Pyramid  Lake  in  the  heart  of  the  Nevada 
desert. 

Automobile  trips  from  the  Tavern  are  numerous,  depend- 
ing entirely  upon  the  length  of  time  one  can  give  to  them. 
Chief  of  all  is  the  Tahoe  Boulevard  trip  around  the  Lake 
to  Tallac,  and  thence  on  by  Lakeside  and  by  Cave  Rock  to 
Glenbrook,  a  distance  of  fifty  miles.  Hobart  Lumber  Mills, 
twenty-two  miles,  are  well  worth  a  visit  to  those  who  have 
never  seen  modern  methods  of  making  lumber;  Independ- 
ence Lake,  thirty  miles,  is  easily  reached  in  two  hours,  and 
it  is  one  of  the  charming  spots  of  the  High  Sierras;  Webber 
Lake,  forty-three  miles,  is  another  exquisite  beauty  spot, 
where  there  is  an  excellent  Country  Club  House.  Reno  is 
reached  by  three  routes,  all  of  them  interesting,  and  each 
well  worth  traveling  over.  An  excellent  trip  is  to  leave  the 
Tavern  after  breakfast,  ride  on  the  Tahoe  Boulevard  to 
Glenbrook  for  lunch,  then  over  to  Carson  City,  where  a  brief 
visit  can  be  made  at  the  Capital  of  the  State  of  Nevada, 
the  Indian  School  and  the  prehistoric  foot-prints,  that  for 
years  have  been  the  wonder  of  the  scientists  of  the  world. 
Then  on  to  Reno,  where  at  the  Riverside  Hotel,  mine  host 
Gosse,  one  of  the  noted  figures  of  the  hotel  world  of  the 


152      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

West,  will  accord  a  hearty  welcome.  Next  morning  Pyramid 
Lake  can  be  visited  and  the  return  to  the  Tavern  made  by 
way  of  Truckee. 

For  those  who  enjoy  motor-boating  on  the  Lake  excellent 
provision  is  made.  The  Lake  Tahoe  Railway  and  Trans- 
portation Company  own  several  steam  and  gasoline  launches, 
with  varied  capacities, —  from  six  to  two  hundred  and  fifty 
passengers  —  full  particulars  of  which  can  always  be  ob- 
tained. 

Fishing  boats  in  large  numbers  are  to  be  had  either  with 
or  without  oarsmen,  together  with  full  equipment  for  fish- 
ing or  hunting  trips. 

The  Tavern  stables  are  prepared  to  supply  all  reasonable 
demands  for  saddle-horses,  driving-teams,  and  pack-animals 
for  hunting  trips,  and  arrangements  can  be  made  for  equip- 
ment and  guides  for  mountain  trips,  of  any  duration,  from  a 
couple  of  days  to  three  months  or  more.  There  is  also  a 
garage  with  first  class  cars  and  experienced  chauffeurs  for  hire. 


i 


LADIES'  LOUNGING  ROOM,  TIIL  CASINO,  TAHOE  TAVERN 


THE  FRONT  OF  TAIIOE  TAVERN  FROM  A  TABLE  IN  THE 
DINING-ROOM 


I 


I5.\l"nlN(;   IN    LAKE  TAIloK,    NEAR    I  AIKIK    lANliRN 


CHAPTER  XV 

TRAIL   TRIPS   IN   THE   TAHOE   REGION 

TO  nature-lovers,  more  or  less  active,  the  trails  all 
around  and  about  Lake  Tahoe  are  a  source  of 
perpetual  surprise  and  delight.  I  know  of  no 
region  in  California  that  possesses  such  a  wealth  of  trails  — 
not  even  the  Yosemite  or  Mt.  Shasta  regions.  The  Lake  is 
an  ever-present  friend.  From  ridges,  peaks,  summits  and 
passes,  near  at  hand  or  scores  of  miles  away,  it  never  fails 
to  satisfy  the  eye.  Again  and  again,  when  one  is  least  ex- 
pecting it,  a  turn  in  the  trail,  or  a  few  steps  forward  or  back- 
ward on  a  summit  ridge  brings  it  into  sight,  and  its  pure 
blue  surface,  now  seen  smooth  and  glossy  as  a  mirror,  again 
shining  in  pearly  brilliancy  in  the  sun,  or  gently  rippled  by  a 
calm  morning  or  evening  zephyr,  or  tossed  into  white  caps 
by  a  rising  wind-storm,  pelted  with  fierce  rain  or  hail,  or 
glimpsed  only  through  sudden  openings  in  a  snowstorm,  at 
sunrise  or  sunset,  each  with  its  own  dazzling  brilliancies  — 
it  always  gives  one  a  thrill  and  warming  sensation  at  the 
heart. 

Then,  too,  the  number  of  peaks  to  the  summits  of  which 
trails  have  been  cut,  so  that  the  walker,  or  the  horseback 
rider  may  have  easy  access,  are  many  and  varied.  In  all 
there  are  not  less  than  forty  peaks,  each  of  which  is  well 
worth  a  trip,  each  presenting  some  feature  of  its  own  that 
renders  its  personality  worth  cultivating. 

In  this  and  other  chapters,  I  present  my  own  experiences 

153 


154      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

as  illustrative  to  give  the  general  reader  an  idea  of  what  may 
be  expected  if  he  (or  she)  is  induced  to  try  one  of  the  chief 
delights  of  a  sojourn  in  this  scenic  region. 

Watson's  peak  and  lake 

Leaving  Tahoe  Tavern,  crossing  the  bridge  to  Tahoe 
City,  the  trail  leaves  the  main  road  on  the  left  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  further  on,  passing  the  horse  pasture  on  the  right. 
Near  Tahoe  City  is  the  Free  Camping  Ground  owned  by  the 
Transportation  Company.  This  has  a  mile  frontage  over- 
looking the  Lake,  and  scores  of  people  habitually  avail  them- 
selves of  the  privilege,  bringing  their  own  outfits  with  them, 
as,  at  present,  there  are  no  arrangements  made  for  renting 
tents  and  the  needed  furnishings  to  outsiders. 

The  slope  up  which  the  trail  now  ascends  with  gradual 
rise  is  covered  with  variegated  chaparral,  making  a  beautiful 
mountain  carpet  and  cushion  for  the  eye.  To  the  foot  and 
body  it  is  entangling  and  annoying,  placing  an  effectual 
barrier  before  any  but  the  most  strenuous,  athletic  and  deter- 
mined of  men. 

Now  the  white  firs,  with  their  white  bark,  and  the  red- 
barked  yellow  pines  begin  to  appear.  They  accompany  us 
all  the  rest  of  the  way  to  the  peak  and  lake. 

Soon  we  cross  Burton  Creek,  a  mere  creek  except  during 
the  snow-melting  or  rain-falling  time.  It  empties  into 
Carnelian  Bay.  Burton  was  one  of  the  old-timers  who 
owned  the  Island  ranch  near  the  Lake  shore,  and  who  came 
to  the  Tahoe  region  at  the  time  of  the  Squaw  Valley  mining 
excitement.  When  the  "  bottom  fell  out  "  of  that  he  did 
a  variety  of  things  to  earn  a  living,  one  of  which  was  to  cut 
bunch  grass  from  Lake  Valley  and  bring  it  on  mules  over 
the  pass  that  bears  his  name,  boat  it  across  to  Lakeside  at 
the  south  end  of  the  Lake,  on  the  Placerville  and  Virginia 
City  stage-road,  and  there  sell  it  to  the  stage  station.     Hay 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       155 

thus  gathered  was  worth  in  those  days  from  $80  to  $100 
per  ton. 

About  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  Tavern  we  come 
to  a  wood  road,  which  is  followed  for  half  a  mile.  Years 
ago  all  these  slopes  were  denuded  of  their  valuable  timber, 
which  was  "  chuted  "  down  to  the  Lake  and  then  towed 
across  to  the  sawmills  at  Glenbrook.  The  remnants  are 
now  being  gathered  up  and  used  as  fuel  for  the  hotel  and  the 
steamboats. 

Here  and  there  are  charming  little  nurseries  of  tiny  and 
growing  yellow  pines  and  white  fir.  How  sweet,  fresh  and 
beautiful  they  look, —  the  Christmas  trees  of  the  fairies.  And 
how  glad  they  make  the  heart  of  the  real  lover  of  his  coun- 
try, to  whom  "  conservation  "  is  not  a  fad,  but  an  impera- 
tive necessity  for  the  future  —  an  obligation  felt  towards 
the  generations  yet  to  come. 

Of  entirely  different  associations,  and  arousing  a  less  agree- 
able chain  of  memories,  are  the  ruined  log-cabins  of  the 
wood-cutter's  and  logger's  days.     Several  of  these  are  passed. 

As  we  re-enter  the  trail,  Watson's  Peak,  8500  feet  high, 
with  its  basaltic  crown,  looms  before  us.  At  our  feet  is  a 
big  bed  of  wild  sunflowers,  their  flaring  yellow  and  gold 
richly  coloring  the  more  somber  slopes.  Here  I  once  saw  a 
band  of  upwards  of  2000  sheep,  herded  by  a  Basque,  one  oi 
that  strange  European  people  who  seem  especially  adapted  by 
centuries  of  such  life  to  be  natural  shepherds.  Few  of  them 
speak  much  American,  but  they  all  know  enough,  when  you 
ask  them  how  many  sheep  they  have,  to  answer,  "  About  six- 
teen hundred."  The  limit  allowed  on  any  government  re- 
serve in  any  one  band  is,  I  think,  1750,  and  though  a  passing 
ranger  may  be  sure  there  are  more,  he  is  nonplussed  when, 
on  his  making  question,  the  owner  or  the  shepherd  shrugs  his 
shoulders  and  says,  "  If  you  don't  believe  me,  they're  there. 
Go  and  count  'em!  " 


156      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Before  the  officials  treated  some  of  the  Basque  shepherds 
with  what  seemed  to  be  too  great  severity  there  were  numer- 
ous forest  fires  on  the  reserve.  These  men  were  generally 
both  self-willed  and  ignorant,  and  we  passed  by  at  this  spot 
a  clump  of  finely  growing  firs,  which  had  been  destroyed 
by  a  fire  started  by  a  shepherd  the  year  before. 

Watson  assures  me  that  he  has  personally  known  many 
cases  where  a  tree  had  been  blown  across  a  trail,  and  the 
shepherd  would  stop  his  sheep,  set  fire  to  the  "  wind-fall  " 
and  then  leave  it  to  burn  —  sometimes  allowing  it  to  smolder 
for  months,  to  the  infinite  peril  of  the  forest  should  an  arous- 
ing wind  blow  the  fire  into  life  and  make  it  spread. 

Fire  notices,  however,  now  are  everywhere,  and  a  few 
severe  punishments  have  largely  put  a  stop  to  all  carelessness 
on  the  part  of  shepherds,  let  alone  their  culpable  neglect. 
There  are  still  campers  and  automobilists  and  others,  of  the 
so-called  superior  and  educated  race,  who  need  as  severe 
lessons  as  some  of  these  ignorant  Basque  shepherds.  They 
knock  down  the  forest-service  placards,  throw  down  matches, 
cigar  and  cigarette  stumps,  and  often  go  off  and  leave  a  camp- 
fire  burning.  The  time  is  rapidly  coming  when  severer  and 
swifter  penalties  will  be  meted  out  to  this  class  of  culprits, 
for  not  only  are  their  actions  against  the  law,  but  they 
jeopardize  all  property  in  and  near  to  the  forests,  as  well  as 
the  lives,  sometimes,  of  many  innocent  men,  women  and 
children,  besides  destroying  the  value  of  the  mountain  slopes 
as  watersheds. 

As  our  trail  winds  and  ascends,  the  rotting  stumps  of  trees 
cut  years  ago  meet  the  eye  on  every  hand,  until  at  length, 
when  at  about  7000  feet  altitude  we  see  no  more.  The  in- 
dications are  cleair  that,  though  the  timber  is  abundant  above 
this  elevation,  for  some  reason  or  other  cutting  ceased.  Care- 
ful observation  reveals  a  possible  reason  for  this.  From 
this  point  on  up  the  soil  is  both  thin  and  poor,  and  though 


i'Li-:.\srKi-:  ;^\KT^   ox   nn,  "wiij)  coosi:."  i.akk  taiioe 


LOOKING  TOWARD  THE  CASINO,  TAHOE  TA\'ERN, 
LAKE  TAHOE 


\    I  h;  \  1 1.  I'M 


<IV   Al'.oLT  TO  LEAVE  TAIIOE  TAVERN 


UN    THE    IKAII.   RPyrUUNING   FROM   THE   SUMMIT   OF   MT. 
TALLAC 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION      157 

the  trees  seem  to  have  flourished  they  are,  in  reah'ty,  gnarled, 
twisted,  stunted  and  unfit  for  a  good  quality  of  lumber. 
Many  of  them  are  already  showing  signs  of  decay,  possibly 
a  proof  that  they  grew  rapidly  and  are  rotting  with  equal 
or  greater  speed. 

At  this  elevation,  7000  to  8000  feet,  the  red  fir  begins  to 
appear.  It  is  an  attractive  and  ever-pleasing  tree,  its  dark 
red  bark  soon  making  it  a  familar  friend. 

How  remarkably  a  woodsman  can  read  what  would  be  an 
unintelligible  jumble  of  facts  to  a  city  man.  Here  on  one 
trip  we  found  a  tree.  Its  top  was  smitten  off  and  removed 
a  distance  of  forty  to  fifty  feet.  Parts  of  the  tree  were 
scattered  for  a  distance  of  two  hundred  yards.  What  caused 
it?  The  unobservant  man  would  have  passed  it  by,  and 
the  observant,  though  untrained  and  inexperienced,  would 
have  wondered  without  an  answer.  And  yet  a  few  minutes' 
observation,  with  the  interpretation  of  Bob  Watson,  made 
it  as  clear  as  the  adding  of  two  to  two.  The  lightning  had 
struck  the  tree,  and  shot  the  top  off  as  if  lifted  and  carried 
away  bodily,  at  the  same  time  scattering  the  pieces  in  every 
direction.  Then,  it  had  seemed  to  jump  from  this  tree  to 
another,  out  of  the  side  of  which  it  had  torn  a  large  piece,  as 
if,  like  a  wild  beast  in  angry  fury,  it  had  bitten  out  a 
giant  mouthful  of  something  it  hated.  It  had  then  jumped 
—  where  ?     There  was  no  sign.     It  simply  disappeared. 

Near  by  we  found  quite  a  nursery  of  graceful,  dainty  and 
attractive  young  firs ;  "  Noah's  ark  trees,"  I  always  feel  like 
calling  them,  for  they  remind  one  constantly  of  the  trees 
found  in  the  Noah's  arks  of  childhood  days,  made  by  the 
Swiss  during  the  long  winter  nights  in  their  mountain  chalets, 
where  the  trees  are  of  a  similar  character  to  those  of  the 
Sierras. 

Near  to  the  point  at  which  we  turn  to  the  left  for  Wat- 
son's Peak,  and  to  the  right  for  Watson's  Lake,  is  a  delicious. 


158      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

cool,  clear  spring,  which  I  instinctively  called,  "  the  Spring 
of  the  Angels."  When  Bob  asked  the  why  of  the  name, 
the  answer  quickly  came :  "  It  is  up  so  high  and  is  so  pure 
and  good."  The  elevation  is  about  8000  feet.  We  take  to 
the  left. 

Here  also  is  found  the  mountain  pine,  its  fine,  smooth, 
black  bark  contrasting  markedly  with  that  of  the  firs  and 
pines  further  down.  It  is  generally  found  not  lower  than 
this  elevation  around  Lake  Tahoe. 

Near  by  are  some  scattered  hemlocks.  This  tree  is  found 
even  higher  than  the  mountain  pine,  and  is  seldom  found 
lower  than  8000  feet.  In  these  higher  elevations  one  sees 
what  a  struggle  some  of  the  trees  have  for  mere  existence. 
Again  and  again  a  mountain  pine  will  be  found,  a  tree  per- 
haps fifty  feet  high,  bowed  over  almost  to  the  ground.  This 
was  done  by  snow.  Given  the  slightest  list  from  the  per- 
pendicular when  the  heavy,  wet  snow  falls  upon  it,  it  is 
bound  slowly  to  be  forced  over.  If  it  is  a  tough,  strong  tree 
it  may  sustain  the  weight  until  melting  time  comes,  when  it 
is  released.  But  it  never  becomes  upright  again.  On  the 
other  hand  if  a  cold  snap  comes  after  the  snow  has  bent  it 
over,  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  it  to  snap  right  in  two, 
eight,  ten  or  more  feet  from  the  ground. 

Now  we  stand  on  the  summit.  This  peak  and  its  attend- 
ant lake  were  named  after  my  incomparable  guide,  Robert 
Watson,  and  it  is  well  that  the  name  of  so  admirable  a  man, 
should  be  preserved  in  the  region  through  which  he  has  in- 
telligently and  kindly  guided  so  many  interested  visitors. 
The  elevation  is  8500  feet. 

What   a   wonderful   panorama  Is   spread   out   before   usJ 
Close  by,  just  across  the  valley  in  which  nestles  Watson's 
Lake,  7900  feet  elevation,  is  Mt.  Pluto,  8500  feet,  the  sides 
of  which  are  covered  with  a  dense  virgin  forest,  thus  present- 
ing  a   magnificent   and   glorious  sight.     There   is   no   trail 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       159 

through  this  forest  though  sheep  are  taken  there  to  graze  in 
the  quiet  meadows  secluded  on  the  heights. 

Further  to  the  east  and  north  is  Mt.  Rose,  10,800  feet, 
on  which  is  perched  the  Meteorological  Observatory  of  the 
University  of  Nevada.     Beyond  is  the  Washoe  Range. 

Even  before  reaching  the  summit  we  gain  a  fine  view, 
through  the  trees,  of  Castle  Peak,  9139  feet,  while  further 
north  is  Mt.  Lola,  9167  feet.  Close  at  hand  is  a  glorious 
specimen  of  red  fir,  fully  four  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter. 
Below  us  to  the  west  is  a  patch  of  vivid  green,  known  as 
Antone  Meadows.  It  was  named  after  a  Switzer  who  lived 
there  years  ago  and  whose  children  now  own  it.  Not  far 
away  is  Round  Meadow,  locally  known  as  Bear-Trap 
Meadow,  for  one  may  still  find  there  an  old  bear-trap  that 
hunters  were  wont  to  use  thirty  or  forty  years  ago.  In  this 
meadow  is  the  cabin  of  the  Forest  Ranger,  which  we  shall 
see  on  the  return  trip. 

Looking  now  over  Lake  Tahoe  to  the  western  horizon  we 
see,  over  Tahoe  Tavern,  and  a  little  west  of  north,  Needle 
Peak  (8920  feet),  to  the  right  of  which  is  Lyon  Peak 
(about  9000  feet).  A  trifle  to  the  south  of  Needle  Peak 
is  Granite  Chief,  followed  by  Squaw  Peak  (8960  feet), 
Ward  Peak  (8665  feet),  and  Twin  Peak  (8924  feet)  the 
one  to  the  right  having  the  appearance  of  a  buffalo  feeding. 

While  these  peaks  appear  in  a  line,  and  as  if  belonging  to 
the  same  range,  a  glimpse  at  the  map  will  reveal  that  they 
are  some  miles  apart. 

As  we  look  further  south,  across  the  head  of  Ward  and 
Blackwood  Creek  Canyons,  the  mountains  do  not  seem  so 
high,  though  we  discern  Barker  Peak  (over  8000  feet). 

Still  further  southward  is  Ellis  Peak  (8700  feet)  appar- 
ently well  timbered.  It  was  named  after  Jock  Ellis,  who,  on 
the  further  side,  had  a  dairy  ranch  for  a  while.  But  when 
he  found  the  cream  would  not  rise  in  the  colder  periods  of 


i6o      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

the  year,  he  gave  up  his  dairy,  and  went  to  raising  sheep. 
In  the  summer  months,  however,  he  had  no  trouble  in  dis- 
posing of  all  the  butter  he  could  make,  or  milk  and  cream 
he  cared  to  sell,  for  he  was  on  the  road  from  Georgetown 
which  passed  by  Rubicon  Springs  to  McKinney's  on  the 
Lake. 

On  the  ridge  to  the  left  are  the  Rubicon  Peaks  (9199 
feet)  three  of  them  apparently,  all  closely  overlooking  Lake 
Tahoe,  and  leading  the  eye  down  to  Sugar  Pine  Point,  which 
is  at  the  south  end  of  McKinney's  Bay. 

To  the  west  of  Rubicon  Peaks  is  Phipps  Peak  (9120  feet), 
and  a  little  farther  back  Mt.  Tallac  (9185  feet),  while 
farther  to  the  south  is  Ralston  Peak  (about  9500  feet),  at 
this  angle  and  distance  appearing  not  unlike  one  of  the  domes 
of  the  Yosemite  Valley.  Near  by,  to  the  right,  is  Pyramid 
Peak  (10,020  feet),  though  from  here  it  presents  a  very 
different  appearance  from  that  it  holds  when  viewed  from 
Mt.  Tallac.  Still  farther  to  the  right  is  Tell's  Peak  (9125 
feet),  apparently  at  the  end  of  a  richly  timbered  ridge.  Tell 
was  an  old  Switzer  who  used  to  keep  a  dairy  ranch  on  the 
slopes  of  the  mountain  bearing  his  name. 

At  the  extreme  south  of  Lake  Tahoe  stands  Round  Top, 
(10,130  feet),  to  the  left  of  which  are  the  three  great  peaks 
of  the  Tahoe  region,  Freel's  (10,900  feet).  Job's  (10,500 
feet)  and  Job's  Sister  (10,820  feet).  Freel  was  one  of  the] 
old  timers  who  used  to  have  a  cattle-range  on  the  slopes. 

Then,  allowing  the  eye  to  follow  along  the  southeastern] 
curve  of  the  Lake  up  to  the  mountains  on  the  eastern  side,] 
the  first  great  depression  is  the  pass  over  which  the  Placer- 
ville  road  goes  down  the  Kingsbury  grade  to  Genoa.  At 
the  foot  of  the  grade,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Carson  Valley] 
is  Van  Sickle's  old  place,  one  of  the  early  day  stage-stationsj 
on  the  Placerville  road. 

Van  Sickle  was  a  noted  character,  a  fearless,  rude  pioneerJ 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       i6i 

but  well  liked  and  highly  respected.  His  fame  was  ma- 
terially enhanced  when  he  killed  Sam  Brown,  one  of  the 
noted  desperadoes  of  the  Tahoe  region  in  the  days  of  the 
Virginia  City  mining  excitement.  Tradition  says  that 
Brown  was  a  fire-eating  southerner,  from  Texas,  a  man 
proud  of  his  bad  record  of  several  murders.  He  was  notori- 
ous in  Virginia  City,  and  when  the  war  broke  out  was  one 
of  the  outspoken  heralds  and  advocates  of  secession.  He  had 
trouble  with  Van  Sickle  and  had  threatened  to  kill  him  on 
sight.  Coming  to  the  place  for  this  purpose  he  himself  was 
killed,  for  Van  Sickle  secured  a  shot-gun,  "  laid  for  him," 
and  shot  him.  A  great  sense  of  relief  was  felt  by  many 
people  at  this,  what  was  then  considered  not  only  a  justifia- 
ble but  highly  laudable  act,  for  Brown  was  seeking  to  raise 
a  body  of  men  to  go  South  and  fight  in  the  Civil  War.  This 
event  had  much  to  do  with  stopping  too  vigorous  advocacy 
of  the  claims  of  the  South  from  that  time  on  in  Virginia 
City  and  the  immediate  neighborhood. 

The  road  around  the  Lake  forks  at  a  place  originally 
known  as  Edgewood's,  the  branch  to  the  left  continuing 
along  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Tahoe,  past  Round  Mound 
and  Cave  Rock  to  Glenbrook,  where  it  swings  over  the 
grade  to  the  east  and  over  the  summit,  divides,  one  branch 
going  down  Clear  Creek  Canyon,  and  the  other  down 
King's  Canyon  to  Carson  City.  It  is  thirteen  and  a  half 
miles  from  Glenbrook  to  Carson  by  way  of  King's  Canyon, 
and  automobiles  use  this  route,  while  stages  run  regularly 
over  the  other  route  via  Clear  Creek  Canyon  which  is  only 
fourteen  and  a  quarter  miles  to  Carson. 

It  was  during  the  lumbering  days  at  Glenbrook  that  the 
railway  ran  from  the  mills  to  the  summit,  nine  miles,  carrying 
carloads  of  lumber  there,  which  were  then  unloaded  and 
shot  down  the  water-flume  to  Carson  City. 

Letting  the  eye  still  follow  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake 


i62      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Tahoe  completing  the  circuit,  northward,  Snow  Valley  Peak 
and  Marlette  Peak  are  reached.  Under  the  latter,  to  the 
southwest,  is  Marlette  Lake,  largely  an  artificial  body  over 
a  mile  long  and  half  a  mile  wide,  which  is  the  reservoir  for 
the  water  supply  of  Virginia  City.  The  course  of  the  con- 
veying flume  may  distinctly  be  traced,  for  part  of  its  twenty- 
four  miles  of  length.  Both  peak  and  lake  were  named  after 
S.  H.  Marlette,  once  Surveyor-General  of  Nevada,  and  a 
well-known  character  of  the  earlier  mining  days. 

Just  below  Marlette  Lake,  almost  directly  facing  Tahoe 
Tavern,  are  several  scarrings,  running  almost  parallel  to 
each  other  and  going  in  the  most  direct  fashion  to  Lake 
Tahoe.  These  denote  where  the  flume  broke  and  the  water 
made  its  own  rude  channels  to  the  Lake  beneath. 

From  this  inadequate  and  imperfect  description  it  can 
readily  be  imagined  what  a  sublime  and  comprehensive 
view  is  afforded  from  Watson's  Peak.  Every  visitor  to 
Tahoe  should  take  the  trip,  especially  those  who  stay  for  a 
few  days  or  longer  at  Tahoe  Tavern. 

WATSON    LAKE 

About  half  a  mile  northwest  from  the  summit  of  Watson 
Peak  is  Watson  Lake,  7900  feet.  It  is  about  300  yards 
long  by  250  yards  broad,  hence  rudely  oval  In  shape.  While 
about  fifty  feet  deep  in  the  center,  it  shallows  toward  the 
edges,  where  lilies  abound,  and  then  becomes  mere  marsh. 
Practically  it  is  surrounded  by  trees.  Restocked  with  a 
variety  of  fish  (trout)  in  large  numbers  each  year,  it  is  one 
of  the  best  fishing  lakes  at  the  northern  end  of  Lake  Tahoe, 
and  a  most  enjoyable  day  to  the  angler  is  to  start  early, 
take  his  lunch  along,  and  spend  the  day  there. 

To  those  who  are  not  anglers  this  same  day  can  be  spent 
in  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  the  trees,  flowers,  lake  and  sky. 

The  outlet  from  the  lake  is  by  Deer  Creek,  and  thence. 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       163 

Into  the  Truckee  not  far  from  the  site  of  the  old  mining- 
camp  of  Knoxville. 

The  return  trip  to  Tahoe  Tavern  is  made  through  a 
virgin  forest,  on  a  ridge  between  Watson  Lake  and  the 
Truckee  Valley,  the  trail  having  been  outlined  only  about 
five  years  ago.  Later  the  Forest  Rangers  considerably  im- 
proved it,  until  now  it  is  a  very  easy  and  comfortable  trail 
to  traverse.  One  notices  here  the  especial  "  blaze  "  on  the 
trees,  of  the  rangers.  It  consists  of  a  perpendicular  parallelo- 
gram with  a  square  above,  thus 


Wherever  this  blaze  is  found  everybody  in  the  region  knows 
it  for  a  ranger's  blaze,  denoting  a  trail  leading  to  a  ranger's 
cabin. 

On  this  ride  one  has  a  wonderful  illustration  of  the  popu- 
lar fallacy  in  woodcraft  that  moss  is  always  found  on  the 
north  side  of  the  trees.  Here  the  moss  is  mainly  on  the  west. 
The  fact  is  the  moss  is  generally  found  on  the  side  from 
which  the  rain-storms  come,  and  here  they  are  mainly  from 
the  south  and  southwest.  A  mile  or  so  away  on  the  trail 
to  Watson's  Lake  the  moss  is  all  on  the  southwest  side  of  the 
trees. 

Most  of  the  trees  here  are  red  fir  and  mountain  pine,  some 
of  them  being  of  large  size,  and  noble  specimens. 

A  little  further  on  a  fine  opening  reveals  Deer  Creek, 
through  which  the  waters  of  Watson  Lake  flow  to  the 
Truckee.     It  was  nearing  the  hour  of  sunset  when  I  reached 


i64      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

this  point,  and  the  trees  were  glowing  with  flaming  gold,  re- 
minding one  of  the  pictures  John  Enneking,  the  wonderful 
Boston  artist,  so  loves  to  paint,  while  below  the  water 
gleamed  like  dazzling  diamonds. 

Along  here  the  side  of  the  ridge  below  the  trail  seemed 
as  if  plowed  into  a  number  of  rudely  parallel  lines.  These 
were  sheep-trails  made  as  the  sheep  followed  each  other  over 
the  softer  soil  of  the  mountain  side. 

A  mile  and  a  half  from  Watson  Lake  we  came  to  a 
telephone  box.  This  was  the  signal  box  of  the  Forest 
Rangers  connecting  with  Lake  Tahoe,  five  miles  away, 
Truckee,  eight  miles,  Shaffer's  Mills,  five  miles  and  thence 
to  Brockway,  six  miles.  In  the  direction  we  were  going 
it  was  but  one  mile  to  the  ranger's  log-cabin  in  Round 
Meadow. 

In  the  winter  time  the  ranger  often  finds  it  difficult  to 
keep  the  line  in  operation.  The  damp  snow  falling  upon 
the  wire,  clings  to  it,  freezes  and  keeps  receiving  additions 
until  it  is  bigger  than  a  man's  arm,  and  the  weight  breaks 
it  down. 

As  we  rode  along  we  saw  a  fat  porcupine,  weighing  full 
twenty-five  pounds  and  deliberately  walking  up  the  slope 
near  by,  as  if  going  to  its  den  in  the  rocks,  but,  though  we 
yelled  and  shouted,  it  scorned  to  notice  us  and  indifferently 
went  its  way.  A  horned  owl  now  and  then  hooted  and  bade 
us  begone,  while  a  badger  came  out  from  his  hole,  but  hur- 
ried back  when  he  saw  or  smelled  who  we  were. 

Now  and  again  we  caught  marvelous  sunset  reflections 
on  Lake  Tahoe  through  the  trees,  and  on  the  eastern  moun- 
tains was  a  peach  glow  more  soft  and  beautiful  than  the 
famous  Alpen  glow. 

Soon  the  sun  was  gone,  and  then,  as  we  rode  through  the 
dark  aisles  of  the  trees  the  stars  came  out  and  shone  with 
dazzling  splendor  overhead.     Just  as  we  left  the   ranger's 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       165 

cabin  a  long  dark  corridor  of  majestic  trees  framed  in  a 
patch  of  black  velvet  in  the  upper  sky,  and  there,  in  the  very 
center,  shining  in  resplendent  glory,  vi^as  Venus,  the  evening 
star. 

The  wind  began  to  blow  a  regular  cyclone  from  the  north, 
so  the  roaring  of  the  trees  told  us,  but  we  were  largely  shel- 
tered, and  as  we  looked  up  through  the  dancing  and  whirling 
tree-tops  there  was  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky. 

Thus  we  returned  to  the  Tavern,  dramatically  and  glori- 
ously bringing  our  delightful  and  easy  trip  to  an  end. 

I  have  been  rather  prolix,  and  have  entered  much  more 
fully  into  detail  than  some  may  deem  necessary  in  the  ac- 
count of  this  trip,  for  two  important  reasons.  It  is  a  trip 
that  none  should  fail  to  take,  and  I  have  made  it  a  sort 
of  general  account,  giving  in  broad  outline  what  the  visitor 
may  expect  of  any  of  the  peak  trips  in  the  vicinity  of  Tahoe 
Tavern.  It  goes  without  saying  that,  constantly,  from  a 
score  or  more  outlook  points,  the  eye  finds  its  resting  place 
upon  Lake  Tahoe,  each  view  being  different  and  more  charm- 
ing than  the  one  that  preceeded  it. 

TO   SQUAW   VALLEY,   GRANITE   CHIEF    PEAK,    FIVE 
LAKES   AND   DEER    PARK   SPRINGS 

Leaving  Tahoe  Tavern  we  cross  the  Truckee  River  and 
ride  down  on  the  north  side.  The  flowing  Truckee  is 
placid  and  smooth,  save  where  eager  trout  jump  and  splash. 
The  meadows  are  richly  green  and  the  mountain  slope  on 
the  further  side  is  radiant  with  virgin  tree-life  in  joyous 
exuberance.  Jays  are  harshly  calling,  chipmunks  are  ex- 
citedly running,  the  pure  blue  of  the  sky  over-arches  all,  the 
wine  of  the  morning  is  in  the  air,  and  we  are  glad  we  are 
alive.  A  spring  of  pure  cold  water  on  the  right,  about  a 
mile  out,  tempts  us  to  a  delicious  morning  draught. 

A  little  further  down  is  "  Pap."  Church's  "  Devil's  Play- 


i66      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

ground,"  "  Devil's  Post,"  and  devil's  this,  that  and  the  other, 
out  of  which  he  gained  considerable  satisfaction  while  driv- 
ing stage-coach  between  Truckee  and  Tahoe  in  the  days  be- 
fore the  railroad. 

It  is  well  carefully  to  observe  these  singular  lava  pudding- 
stone  masses,  for,  according  to  the  theory  of  John  Le  Conte, 
the  eminent  physicist,  recounted  in  another  chapter,  these 
were  the  restraining  masses  that  made  the  Lake  at  one  time 
eighty  or  a  hundred  feet  higher  than  it  is  to-day. 

Four  miles  from  the  Tavern  we  pass  Engineer  Von 
Schmidt's  old  dam,  for  the  history  of  which  see  the  chapter 
on  "  The  Truckee  River." 

Near  Deer  Park  Station  is  another  spring  on  the  right. 
In  the  old  stage  days  "  Pap."  Church  always  stopped  here 
and  gave  his  passengers  the  opportunity  to  drink  of  the 
water,  while  he  made  discourse  as  to  its  remarkable  coldness. 
Five  years  ago  a  land  slide  completely  buried  it,  and  the  road 
had  to  be  cut  through  again.  Ever  since  the  spring  has  been 
partially  clogged  and  does  not  flow  freely,  but  it  is  cold 
enough  to  make  one's  teeth  ache. 

In  the  winter  of  1 881-2  a  land-and-snow-slide  occurred 
a  little  beyond  Deer  Park  Station.  Watson  was  carrying 
the  mail  on  snow-shoes  at  the  time  and  saw  it.  There  had 
been  a  five  foot  fall  of  snow  in  early  March,  and  a  week  or 
two  later  came  a  second  fall  of  seven  feet.  Something 
started  the  mass,  and  down  it  came,  rushing  completely  across 
the  river  and  damming  it  up,  high  on  the  other  side,  and 
the  course  of  the  slide  can  clearly  be  seen  to-day.  It  is  now, 
however,  almost  covered  with  recent  growth  of  chaparral,  and 
thus  contributed  to  one  of  the  most  beautiful  effects  of  light 
and  shade  I  ever  saw.  The  mountain  slope  on  one  side  was 
completely  covered  with  a  growth  of  perfect  trees.  Through 
these  came  pencillings  of  light  from  the  rising  sun,  casting 
alternate  rulings  of  light  and  shadow  in  parallel  lines  on 


I 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       167 

the  glossy  surface  of  the  chaparral  beyond.  The  effect  was 
enhanced  by  the  fleecy  and  sunshiny  clouds  floating  in  the 
cobalt  blue  above. 

Near  the  mouth  of  Bear  Creek  the  river  makes  a  slight 
curve  and  also  a  drop  at  the  same  time,  and  the  road,  making 
a  slight  rise,  presents  the  view  of  a  beautiful  stretch  of  roar- 
ing and  foaming  cascades.  Here  the  canyon  walls  are  of 
bare,  rocky  ridges,  of  white  and  red  barrenness,  with  oc- 
casional patches  of  timber,  but  very  different  from  the  tree- 
clad  slopes  that  we  have  enjoyed  hitherto  all  the  way  down 
from  the  Tavern. 

Beyond  is  a  little  grove  of  quaking  aspens.  Their  leaves, 
quivering  in  the  morning  breeze,  attract  the  eye.  Crossing 
the  railway,  the  road  makes  a  climb  up  a  hill  that  at  one  time 
may  have  formed  a  natural  dam  across  the  river.  Here  is 
a  scarred  tree  on  the  left  where  Handsome  Jack  ran  his 
stage  off  the  bank  in  1875,  breaking  his  leg  and  seriously  in- 
juring his  passengers. 

Crossing  the  next  bridge  to  the  left  at  the  mouth  of 
Squaw  Creek,  six  miles  from  the  Tavern,  on  a  small  flat  by 
the  side  of  the  river  is  the  site  of  the  town  of  Claraville,  one 
of  the  reminders  of  the  Squaw  Valley  mining  excitement. 

Just  below  this  bridge  is  an  old  log  chute,  and  a  dam  in 
the  river.  This  dam  backed  up  the  water  and  made  a 
"  cushion  "  into  which  the  logs  came  dashing  and  splashing, 
down  from  the  mountain  heights  above.  They  were  then 
floated  down  the  river  to  the  sawmill  at  Truckee. 

At  Knoxville  we  forded  the  river  at  a  point  where  a  giant 
split  bowlder  made  a  tunnel  and  the  water  dashed  through 
with  roaring  speed.  Retracing  our  steps  for  a  mile  or  so 
we  came  to  the  Wigwam  Inn,  a  wayside  resort  and  store 
just  at  the  entrance  to  Squaw  Valley.  To  the  right  flows 
Squaw  Creek,  alongside  of  which  is  the  bed  of  the  logging 
railway  belonging  to  the  Truckee  Lumber  Co.     It  was  aban- 


i68      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

doned  two  or  three  years  ago,  when  all  the  available  logs 
of  the  region  had  been  cut.  Most  of  the  timber-land  be- 
tween Squaw  Creek  and  Truckee,  on  both  sides  of  the  river, 
was  purchased  years  ago,  from  its  locators,  by  the  Truckee 
Lumber  Company.  But  Scott  Bros,  purchased  a  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  from  the  locators  and  established  a  dairy  in 
Squaw  Valley,  supplying  the  logging-camps  with  milk  and 
butter  for  many  years  past. 

For  forty  years  or  more  this  region  has  been  the  scene  of 
active  logging,  the  work  having  begun  under  the  direction 
of  Messrs.  Bricknell  and  Kinger,  of  Forest  Hill.  The  pres- 
ent president  of  the  Truckee  Lumber  Co.  is  Mr.  Hazlett, 
who  married  the  daughter  of  Kinger.  This  company,  after 
the  railway  removed  from  Glenbrook  and  was  established 
between  Tahoe  and  Truckee,  lumbered  along  the  west  side 
of  Tahoe  as  far  as  Ward  Creek. 

Entering  the  valley  we  find  it  free  from  willows,  open  and 
clear.  The  upper  end  is  surrounded,  amphitheater  fashion, 
by  majestic  mountains,  rising  to  a  height  of  upwards  of 
9000  feet.  Clothed  with  sage-brush  at  the  lower  end  and 
rich  grass  further  up,  even  to  the  very  base  of  the  mountains, 
it  is,  in  some  respects,  the  prettiest  valley  in  the  whole  of  this 
part  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas. 

The  upper  meadows  are  full  of  milk  cows,  quietly  grazing 
or  lying  down  and  chewing  their  cuds,  while  just  beyond  the 
great  dairy  buildings  is  the  unpretentious  cottage  of  the 
Forest  Ranger.  Remnants  of  old  log  chutes  remind  one  of 
the  logging  activities  that  used  to  be  carried  on  here. 

One  of  the  most  observable  features  of  Squaw  Valley  is 
its  level  character.  This  is  discussed  in  the  chapter  on 
glacial  action. 

On  the  right  the  vein  of  quartz  which  out-crops  at  Knox- 
ville  is  visible  in  several  places  and  the  various  dump-piles 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       169 

show  how  many  claimants  worked  on  their  locations  in  the 
hope  of  finding  profitable  ore. 

Half  way  up  the  valley  is  an  Iron  Spring,  the  oxydization 
from  which  has  gathered  together  a  large  amount  of  red 
which  the  Indians  still  prize  highly  and  use  for  face  paint. 

How  these  suggestions  excite  the  imagination  —  old  log- 
ging chutes,  mining-claims  and  Indians.  Once  this  valley 
rang  with  the  clang  of  chains  on  driven  oxen,  the  sharp  stroke 
of  the  ax  as  it  bit  into  the  heart  of  the  tree,  the  crash  of  the 
giant  trees  as  they  fell,  the  rude  snarl  of  the  saw  as  it  cut 
them  up  into  logs,  the  shout  of  the  driver  as  he  drove  his 
horses  alongside  the  chute  and  hurried  the  logs  down  to  the 
river,  the  quick  blast  of  the  imprisoned  powder,  the  falling 
of  shattered  rocks,  the  emptying  of  the  ore  or  waste-bucket 
upon  the  dump  —  all  these  sounds  once  echoed  to  and  from 
these  hillsides  and  mountain  slopes. 

Now  everything  is  as  quiet  and  placid  as  a  New  England 
pastoral  scene,  and  only  the  towering  mountains,  snow-clad 
even  as  late  as  this  in  the  fall,  suggest  that  we  are  in  the 
far-^away  wilds  of  the  great  West. 

But  Squaw  Valley  had  another  epoch,  which  it  was  hoped 
would  materially  and  forever  destroy  its  quiet  and  pastoral 
character.  In  the  earlier  days  of  the  California  gold  excite- 
ment the  main  road  from  Truckee  and  Donner  Lake  went 
into  Nevada  County  and  thus  on  to  Sacramento.  In  1862 
the  supervisors  of  Placer  County,  urged  on  by  the  merchants, 
sent  up  a  gang  of  men  from  Placerville  to  build  a  road  from 
Squaw  Valley,  into  the  Little  American  Valley,  down  the 
Forest  Hill  Divide,  thus  hoping  to  bring  the  emigrant  travel 
to  Forest  Hill,  Michigan  Bluff,  and  other  parts  of  Placer 
County. 

It  was  also  argued  that  emigrants  would  be  glad  to  take 
this  new  road  as  all  the  pasture  along  the  other  road  was 


I70      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

"  eaten  off."     Over  this  historic  road  we  are  now  about  to 
ride. 

As  we  look  up  it  is  a  forbidding  prospect.  Only  brave 
men  and  sanguine  would  ever  have  dared  to  contemplate  such 
a  plan.  The  mountain  cliffs,  separated  and  split,  arise  be- 
fore us  as  impassable  barriers.  Yet  one  branch  of  the  old 
trail  used  to  pass  through  the  divide  to  the  right,  over  to 
Hopkins  Springs,  while  the  one  that  was  converted  into  the 
wagon  road  took  the  left-hand  canyon  to  the  main  divide. 

We  now  begin  to  ascend  this  road  at  the  head  of  Squaw 
Valley,  and  in  five  minutes,  or  less,  are  able  to  decide  why 
it  was  never  a  success.  The  grade  is  frightful,  and  for  an 
hour  or  more  we  go  slowly  up  it,  stopping  every  few  yards 
to  give  our  horses  breath.  All  the  way  along  we  can  trace 
the  blazes  on  the  trees  made  over  sixty  years  ago.  It  is 
hard  enough  for  horses  to  go  up  this  grade,  but  to  pull 
heavily-ladened  wagons  —  it  seems  impossible  that  even  those 
giant-hearted  men,  used  to  seeing  so  many  impossible  things 
accomplished,  could  ever  have  believed  that  such  a  road 
could  be  feasible.  What  wonderful,  marvelous,  undaunted 
characters  they  must  have  been,  men  with  wills  of  inflexible 
steel,  to  overcome  such  obstacles  and  dare  such  hardships. 
Yet  there  were  compensations.  Squaw  Creek's  clear,  pel- 
lucid, snow-fed  stream  runs  purling,  babbling  or  roaring 
and  foaming  by  to  the  right.  These  pioneers  with  their 
women  and  children  had  crossed  the  sandy,  alkali  and  water- 
less deserts.  For  days  and  weeks  they  had  not  had  water 
enough  to  keep  their  faces  clean,  to  wash  the  sand  from  their 
eyes.  Now,  though  they  had  come  to  a  land  of  apparently 
unscalable  mountains  and  impassable  rock-barriers,  they  had 
grass  for  the  stock,  and  water, —  delicious,  fresh,  pure,  re- 
freshing water  for  themselves.  I  can  imagine  that  when 
they  reached  here  they  felt  it  was  a  new  paradise,  and  that 
God  was  especially  smiling  upon  them,  and   to  such  men, 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       171 

with  such  feelings,  what  could  daunt,  what  prevent,  what 
long  stay  their  onward  march. 

As  we  ascend,  the  mountains  on  our  right  assume  the 
form  of  artificial  parapets  of  almost  white  rock,  outlined 
against  the  bluest  of  blue  skies.  There  is  one  gray  peak 
ahead,  tinged  with  green.  The  trail  is  all  washed  away  and 
our  horses  stumble  and  slide,  slip  and  almost  fall  over  the 
barren  and  rough  rocks,  and  the  scattered  bowlders,  a  dev- 
astating cloud-burst  could  not  wash  away. 

Here  is  a  spring  on  the  left,  hidden  in  a  grove  of  alders 
and  willows,  and  now  new  and  more  fantastic  spires  arise 
on  the  right.  Higher  up  we  see  where  those  sturdy  road- 
builders  rolled  giant  rocks  out  of  their  way  to  make  an 
impassable  road  look  as  if  it  could  be  traversed. 

Reaching  the  point  at  the  foot  of  Squaw  Peak  at  last  we 
look  back  over  Squaw  Valley.  In  the  late  summer  tints 
it  is  beautiful,  but  what  must  it  be  in  the  full  flush  of 
its  summer  glory  and  perfection?  Then  it  must  be  a  de- 
light to  the  eye  and  a  refreshment  to  the  soul.  How  in- 
teresting, too,  it  is  to  rehabilitate  it  as  a  great  glacial  lake. 
One  can  see  its  pellucid  waters  of  clear  amethystine  blue 
and  imagine  the  scenes  that  transpired  when  the  ancestors 
of  the  present  Indians  fished,  in  rude  dugouts,  or  on  logs, 
or  extemporized  rafts,  upon  its  surface.  Now  it  is  cov- 
ered with  brown,  yellowish  grass,  with  tree-clad  slopes  ris- 
ing from  the  marge. 

Turning  to  the  right  we  find  ourselves  in  a  country  of 
massive  bowlders.  They  seem  to  have  been  broken  off 
from  the  summits  above  and  arrested  here  for  future  ages 
and  movements  to  change  or  pass  on. 

The  road  grows  severer  than  ever,  and  we  cannot  help 
again  picturing  those  old  heroes  driving  their  wagons  up, 
while  the  women  and  children  toiled  painfully  on  foot  up 
the   steep    and    rocky   slopes.     Could   anything   ever   daunt 


172      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

them  after  this?  any  obstacle,  however  insurmountable,  dis- 
courage them?  any  labor,  however  severe,  compel  them  to 
turn  back? 

Though  there  is  a  deep  pathos  in  all  these  memories,  the 
heroism  of  it  makes  our  blood  tingle  with  pride  that  such 
men  and  women  belonged  to  us,  that  we  are  privileged  to 
live  in  the  land  their  labors,  loves  and  lives  have  sanctified. 

We  turn  to  the  right;  a  tiny  waterfall,  which  in  the 
season  must  be  quite  a  sight,  trickles  down  near  by;  we 
are  now  advancing  directly  upon  the  serrated  ridge  of  fan- 
tastic spires  that  have  long  accompanied  us.  We  now  find 
those  white-seeming  pinnacles  are  of  delicate  pinks,  creams, 
blues,  slates  and  grays.  In  one  place,  however,  it  seems 
for  all  the  world  as  if  there  were  a  miniature  Gothic  chapel 
built  of  dark,  brownish-black  lava.  Another  small  patch 
of  the  same  color  and  material,  lower  down,  presents  a 
gable  end,  with  windows,  reminding  us  of  the  popular 
picture  of   Melrose  Abbey  in   the  moonlight. 

Now  we  are  lined  on  either  side  by  removed  bowlders, 
but  the  road!  ah  the  road!  who  could  ever  have  traveled 
over  it?  Trees  twenty  feet  high  have  now  grown  up  in 
the  roadway.  To  the  left  Squaw  Peak  (8960  feet)  towers 
above  us,  while  we  make  the  last  great  pull  through  the 
rocky  portion  ere  we  come  to  the  easier  rise  to  the  shoulders 
of  Granite  Chief.  Here  the  road  was  graded  out  from 
the  side  of  a  granite  mountain,  blasted  out  and  built  up,  but 
it  is  now  sadly  washed  out.  Further  up,  a  broad  porphyritic 
dyke  crosses  our  path,  then  more  trees,  and  we  come  to  the 
gentle  slope  of  a  kind  of  granitic  sand  which  composes  the 
open  space  leading  to  the  pass  between  Granite  Chief  on 
the  right,  and  a  peculiar  battlemented  rock,  locally  known 
as  Fort  Sumpter,  on  the  left.  This  was  named  by  the 
Squaw  Valley  stampeders  who  came  over  the  trail  in  the 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       173 

early  days  of  the  Civil  War,  when  all  patriots  and  others 
were  excited  to  the  core  at  the  news  that  Fort  Sumpter 
had  been  fired  upon.  On  one  of  the  highest  points  stands 
a  juniper  on  which  a  big  blaze  was  cut  by  the  early  road- 
makers,  so  that  there  need  be  no  doubt  as  to  which  way 
the  road  turned.  Other  nearby  trees,  in  their  wild  rugged- 
ness  and  sturdy  growth,  remind  us  of  a  woman  whose  skirts 
are  blown  about  by  a  fierce  wind.  Their  appearance  speaks 
of  storms  braved,  battles  of  wind  and  snow  and  ice  and  cold 
fought  and  won,  for  they  have  neither  branch  nor  leaf  on 
the  exposed  side,  and  on  the  other  are  pitiably  scant. 

As  we  cross  the  sandy  divide,  over  which  a  wagon  could 
drive  anywhere,  we  find  white  sage  in  abundance.  Expan- 
sive vistas  loom  before  us,  ahead  and  to  the  right,  while 
Squaw  Peak  now  presents  the  appearance  of  a  vast  sky-line 
crater.  We  seem  to  be  standing  on  the  inside  of  it,  but  on 
the  side  where  the  wall  has  disappeared.  Across,  the  peak 
has  a  circular,  palisaded  appearance,  and  the  lower  peaks  to 
the  right  seem  as  if  they  were  the  continuation  of  the  wall, 
making  a  vast  crater  several  miles  in  diameter.  The  pla- 
teau upon  which  we  stand  seems  as  if  it  might  have  been 
a  level  spot  almost  near  the  center  of  the  bowl.  Fort 
Sumpter  is  a  part  of  this  great  crater-like  wall  and  Granite 
Chief  is  the  end  of  the  ridge. 

As  a  rule  there  is  a  giant  bank  of  snow  on  the  saddle 
over  which  the  trail  goes  between  Ft.  Sumpter  and  Granite 
Chief,  but  this  year  (1913)  it  has  totally  disappeared.  It 
has  been  the  driest  season  known  for  many  years. 

Looking  back  towards  the  Lake  a  glorious  and  expansive 
view  is  presented.  Watson  Peak,  Mt.  Rose,  Marlette 
Peak,  Glenbrook  and  the  pass  behind  it,  are  all  in  sight 
and  the  Lake  glistening  in  pearly  brilliancy  below. 

At  the  end  of  the  Squaw  Peak  ridge,  on  the  right,  is  a 


174      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

mass  of  andeslte,  looking  like  rude  cordwood,  and  just 
above  is  a  mass  of  breccia  very  similar  to  that  found  in  the 
Truckee  Valley  a  few  miles  below  Tahoe  Tavern. 

Below  us,  at  the  head  of  Squaw  Creek  is  a  small  blue 
pond,  scarcely  large  and  important  enough  to  be  called  a 
lake,  yet  a  distinctive  feature  and  one  that  would  be  highly 
prized  in  a  less-favored  landscape. 

On  the  very  summit  of  the  ridge  we  get  fine  views  of 
Mounts  Ralston,  Richardson,  Pyramid  Peak  and  the  whole 
Rock  Bound  Range,  while  close  at  hand  to  the  north  is 
Needle  Peak  (8920  feet),  and  to  the  south,  Mt.  Mildred 
(8400  feet).  To  our  left  is  Fort  Sumpter,  to  the  right 
the  Granite  Chief,  and  between  the  two  a  stiff  breeze  is 
blowing. 

Have  you  ever  stood  on  a  mountain  ridge  or  divide 
when  a  fierce  gale  was  blowing,  so  that  you  were  unable 
to  walk  without  staggering,  and  where  it  was  hard  to  get 
your  breath,  much  less  speak,  and  where  it  seemed  as  if 
Nature  herself  had  set  herself  the  purpose  of  cleansing  you 
through  and  through  with  her  sweetening  pneumatic  proc- 
esses? If  not,  you  have  missed  one  of  the  blessed  influ- 
ences of  life. 

Rough?  harsh?  severe?  Of  course,  but  what  of  that, 
compared  with  the  blessings  that  result.  It  is  things  like 
that  that  teach  one  to  love  Nature.  Read  John  Muir's  ac- 
count—  in  his  Mountains  of  California  —  and  see  how  he 
reveled  in  wind-storms,  and  even  climbed  into  a  tree  and 
clung  to  its  top  "  like  a  bobolink  on  a  reed  "  in  order  to 
enjoy  a  storm  to  the  full. 

Immediately  at  our  feet  lie  the  various  mazes  of  can- 
yons and  ravines  that  make  the  diverse  forks  of  the  Ameri- 
can River.  In  one  place  is  a  forbidding  El  Capitan,  while 
in  another  we  can  clearly  follow  for  miles  the  Royal  Grorge 
of    this    many    branched    Sierran    river.     To    the    right    is 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       175 

Castle  Peak  (9139  feet)  to  the  north  and  west  of  Donner 
Lake,  while  nearby  is  Tinker's  Knob  (9020  feet)  leading 
the  eye  down  to  Hopkins'  Soda  Springs.  Beyond  is  Don- 
ner Peak  (8135  feet)  pointing  out  the  location  of  Summit 
Valley,  just  to  the  left  (west)  where  the  trains  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  send  up  their  smoke-puffs  and  clouds  into 
the  air. 

At  our  feet  is  the  Little  American  Valley,  in  which  is 
the  road,  up  the  eastern  portion  of  which  we  have  so  toil- 
somely climbed.  With  a  little  pointing  out  it  is  possible 
to  follow  the  route  it  followed  on  the  balance  of  its  steep 
and  perilous  way.  Crossing  the  valley  beneath  it  zig- 
zagged over  the  bluff  to  the  right,  through  the  timber  to 
the  ridge  between  the  North  and  Middle  Forks,  then  down, 
down,  by  Last  Chance  to  Michigan  Bluff.  The  reverent 
man  instinctively  thanks  God  that  he  is  not  compelled  to 
drive  a  wagon,  containing  his  household  goods,  as  well  as 
his  wife  and  children,  over  such  roads  nowadays. 

Just  before  making  the  descent  we  succeed  in  getting  a 
suggestive  glimpse  of  what  is  finely  revealed  on  a  clear 
day.  Slightly  to  the  south  of  west  is  Mount  Diablo,  while 
northwards  the  Marysville  Buttes,  Lassen's  rugged  butte, 
and  even  stately  Mt.  Shasta  are  in  distinct  sight.  At  this 
time  the  atmosphere  is  smoky  with  forest  fires  and  the  burn- 
ing of  the  tules  in  the  Sacramento  and  other  interior  val- 
leys, hence  our  view  is  not  a  clear  one. 

It  did  not  take  us  long  to  reach  the  old  stage-station  in 
the  Little  American  Valley.  Here  Greek  George  —  he  was 
never  known  by  any  other  name  —  had  a  station,  only  the 
charred  logs  remaining  to  tell  of  some  irreverent  sheep- 
herder  or  Indian  who  had  no  regard  for  historic  landmarks. 
The  pile  of  rocks  which  remain  denote  the  presence  of  the 
chimney.  When  the  new  stage-road  was  built  and  travel 
over  this   road  —  always  very  slim   and  precarious  —  com- 


176      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

pletely  declined,  Greek  George  removed,  but  his  log  hotel 
and  bunk-house  remained  until  a  few  years  ago. 

We  lunch  by  the  side  of  the  old  chimney  and  ruminate 
over  the  scenes  that  may  have  transpired  here  in  those  early 
days. 

On  our  way  back  we  pass  the  stumps  of  two  large  firs 
which  were  undoubtedly  cut  down  to  supply  George's  houses 
with  shakes.  At  the  base  of  Ft.  Sumpter  we  leave  the 
trail  down  which  we  have  come,  with  the  intention  of 
going  —  without  a  trail  —  down  Whisky  Creek,  over  sev- 
eral interesting  meadows  to  Five  Lake  Creek,  and  thence 
up  by  the  Five  Lakes,  over  the  pass  into  Bear  Creek  Can- 
yon, past  Deer  Park  to  the  Truckee  River  and  thus  to  the 
Tavern. 

With  such  an  excellent  guide  as  Bob  Watson  we  have 
no  hesitation  in  striking  out  in  any  direction  and  in  a  short 
time  Mt.  Mildred    (8400  feet)    is  on  our  right. 

Great  groves  of  willows  and  alders  cover  immense  areas 
of  the  canyon's  sides,  while  we  pass  a  giant  red  fir  with  a 
diameter  of  fully  six  feet. 

When  about  half  a  mile  from  Five  Lake  Creek  the  larg- 
est portion  of  the  canyon  is  taken  up  with  irregular  masses 
of  granite  over  which  a  glacier,  or  glaciers,  have  moved. 
The  striation  and  markings  are  down  the  valley,  and  look- 
ing up  from  below  the  canyon  for  a  mile  or  more  it  has 
the  appearance  of  a  series  of  irregular  giant  steps,  each  step 
gradually  sloping  back  to  the  step  above.  From  above  the 
course  of  the  glacier  seems  clear.  It  must  have  flowed 
downwards,  polishing  and  smoothing  each  step  in  turn,  then 
falling  over  the  twenty,  thirty  or  fifty  feet  high  edge  to  the 
next  lower  level,  to  ascend  the  next  slope,  reach  the  next 
precipice,  and  so  on. 

At  the  point  where  we  strike  Five  Lake  Creek,  in  a  large 
expanse  of  meadow,  we  pass  a  camp,  where  in  the  distance 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       177 

we  can  clearly  see  three  men  and  a  woman.  Deer  hunters 
probably.     We   give  them  a  cheery   Halloo!   and  pass  on. 

Five  Lake  Creek  here  makes  a  sharp  bend  into  the  can- 
yon which  is  a  continuation  of  the  canyon  down  which  we 
have  been  traveling,  and  enters  the  Rubicon  River  at  Hell 
Hole.  We,  however,  turn  up  the  Creek  to  the  northeast, 
here  striking  the  regular  Hell  Hole  trail  built  a  few  years 
ago  by  Miss  Katherine  Chandler,  of  Deer  Park.  Just 
ahead  of  us,  appearing  through  a  grove  of  trees  near  to 
where  the  Five  Lakes  are  nestling,  is  a  perfectly  white  cloud, 
absolutely  startling  in  the  vividness  of  its  contrast  to  the 
deep  blue  of  the  sky  and  the  equally  deep  green  of  the  firs 
and  pines. 

A  wilderness  of  bowlders  compels  the  winding  about  of 
the  trail,  but  we  hear  and  see  Five  Lake  Creek,  roaring 
and  dashing  along,  for  it  has  a  large  flow  of  water  and  its 
course  is  steep  and  rocky.  We  pass  through  groups  of  wil- 
lows, wild  currants  and  alders,  enter  a  sparsely  wooded 
meadow  and  in  a  few  moments  see  the  first  of  the  Five 
Lakes.  There  is  but  little  difference  in  their  levels, 
though  their  sizes  vary  considerably.  The  first  one  is  the 
largest.  Here  is  a  log  cabin  and  two  or  three  boats.  These 
are  owned  by  the  Deer  Park  Springs  resort,  and  are  for 
their  fishing  and  hunting  patrons.  They  also  own  a  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  here,  which  include  the  area  of  the 
lake.  The  two  first  or  lower  lakes  are  the  largest  and 
the  deepest.  It  is  their  flow  which  makes  Five  Lakes  Creek. 
The  three  upper  lakes  are  smaller  and  shallower.  It  is  said 
that  a  divide  used  to  separate  the  two  lower  from  the 
three  upper  lakes,  and  the  flow  from  the  latter  descended 
through  Bear  Creek,  past  Deer  Park,  into  the  Truckee 
River  and  thence  into  far-away  Pyramid  Lake  in  Nevada. 

From  this  point  the  trail  is  clear  and  well  defined,  be- 
ing traveled  constantly  during  the  season  by  guests  of  Deer 


178      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Park  Springs.  Passing  through  a  fine  nursery  of  beauti- 
ful and  exquisite  red  firs  we  drop  into  the  canyon  of  Bear 
Creek.  To  the  left  are  great  andesite  crowns  on  the  moun- 
tain tops.  Here  also  are  more  glacially  polished  masses 
and  cliffs  of  granite,  clearly  indicating  great  glacial  activity 
in  the  upper  part  of  this  canyon.  The  trail  is  ticklish  in 
a  few  places,  with  steps  up  and  down  which  our  horses  take 
gingerly,  but  nothing  which  need  excite  an  extra  heart-beat 
to  one  used  to  mountain  trails. 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  we  are  at  Deer  Park  Springs, 
drinking  its  pleasant  waters,  and  while  we  still  have  six  and 
a  half  miles  to  go  to  the  Tavern  it  is  over  easy  and  ordinary 
road,  and  therefore  our  pleasant  trip  is  practically  at  an  end. 

TO   ELLIS    PEAK 

Homewood  is  the  natural  starting  point  for  Ellis  Peak 
(8745  feet)  as  the  trail  practically  leaves  the  Lake  high- 
road at  that  point,  and  strikes  directly  upon  the  mountain 
slope.  Hundreds  make  the  trip  on  foot  and  it  is  by  no 
means  an  arduous  task,  but  many  prefer  to  go  horse-back 
or  burro-back.  In  its  upward  beginnings  the  trail  follows 
the  course  of  an  old  logging  chute  for  a  distance  of  some 
two  miles,  the  lake  terminus  of  which  is  now  buried  in  a 
nursery  of  white  fir  and  masses  of  white  lilac.  There  are 
a  few  cedars  and  pines  left  untouched  by  the  logger's  ax, 
but  they  are  not  prime  lumber  trees,  or  not  one  of  them 
would  now  be  standing. 

To  the  right  is  Dick  Madden  Creek,  which,  like  all  the 
streams  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  great  western  escarp- 
ment of  Lake  Tahoe,  comes  dashing  and  roaring  down  steep 
and  rocky  beds  to  the  Lake. 

When  at  about  7000  feet  we  find  few  other  than  red 
firs  and  mountain  pines.  Here  is  a  wonderful  nursery  of 
them  that  have  secured  a  firm  hold  upon  life.     Through- 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       179 

out  the  whole  region  the  year  19 13  seems  to  have  been  a 
most  kindly  one  for  the  untended,  uncared  for  baby-trees. 
There  has  been  comparatively  little  snowfall  for  three  suc- 
cessive years,  and  this  has  given  the  young  trees  a  chance. 
As  soon  as  their  heads  appear  above  the  snow  and  they  are 
not  battered  down  by  storm  they  can  make  their  way,  but 
if  the  heavy  snow  falls  and  remains  upon  them  too  long, 
they  are  either  smothered,  or  so  broken  down,  that  life  be- 
comes a  fearful  struggle  and  scores  of  them  succumb.  Yet 
in  spite  of  this  fact  hemlocks  and  red  firs  seem  to  prefer  the 
north  or  shady  slopes  of  the  mountains  and  invariably 
thrive  much  better  there  than  where  there  is  sunnier  ex- 
posure. 

When  about  three  miles  up  from  the  Lake  we  reach  a 
richly-grassed  meadow,  about  five  acres  in  extent,  confined 
in  a  bowl-shaped  rim,  broken  down  at  the  east  side,  through 
which  a  rivulet,  which  flows  across  the  meadow,  finds  out- 
let. This  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  many  mountain  lakes 
of  the  region,  too  shallow  and  with  too  sluggish  a  flow 
of  water  into  it  to  clear  itself  of  the  detritus  washed  down 
from  the  disintegrating  slopes  above,  hence  it  ultimately 
filled  up  and  entered  upon  a  new  life  as  a  meadow. 

On  the  upper  side  of  the  meadow  the  trail  passes  through 
a  glorious  grove  of  hemlocks,  the  clean  and  clear  "  floor  " 
of  which  leads  one  to  the  observation  that  hemlocks  gener- 
ally seem  to  be  hostile  to  other  and  lesser  growth  coming 
in  to  occupy  the  ground  with  them. 

Sierran  heather  of  purple  color  now  appears  here  and 
there  in  patches  and  we  find  quantities  of  it  further  along. 
There  are  also  several  peculiar  puff-balls,  and  close  by  a 
remarkable  fungus-growth  like  a  cauliflower,  fully  a  foot 
in  diameter. 

Nearing  the  summit  we  come  to  another  meadow  fol- 
lowed by  another  grove,  where  scarcely  any  trees  but  hem- 


i8o      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

locks  are  to  be  seen.  Here  also  we  see  great  beds  of  the 
California  primrose  which  grows  with  a  straight  upright 
stem  crowned  with  blood-red  or  deep  scarlet  flowers  above 
a  rich  cluster  of  leaves.  These  flowers  generally  can  be 
found  blooming  quite  late  in  the  season,  following  the 
snowline  as  the  summer's  sun  makes  it  climb  higher  each 
day.  When  the  winter's  snows  have  been  extra  heavy  the 
plants  are  covered  and  no  flowers  appear,  as  the  snow  melts 
too  late,  but  when  there  is  a  lesser  amount  they  bloom  as 
freely  as  ever,  apparently  none  the  worse  for  their  dormant 
period. 

Over  the  peak  billowy  white  clouds  are  tossing,  like 
giant  cradles  built  of  the  daintiest  and  most  silvery  cloud- 
stuff  to  be  found  in  the  heavens  for  the  rocking  of  the  cloud- 
babies  to  sleep. 

On  a  sister  peak  to  Ellis  Peak,  just  to  the  south,  is  to 
be  seen  a  remarkable  and  strikingly  picturesque  cluster  of 
hemlocks.  It  is  almost  circular  in  form,  with  eight  trees  in 
the  center,  and  twenty-three  on  the  outer  rim,  which  is 
over  a  hundred  feet  in  circumference.  Seldom  does  one 
see  so  interesting  a  group  of  trees  anywhere,  even  when 
planted,  and  these,  of  course,  are  of  native  growth. 

The  summit  itself  is  of  broken  and  shattered  granite, 
which  has  allowed  a  scraggly  mountain  pine  to  take  root 
and  grow  close  to  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  monument. 
A  fierce  gale  was  blowing  from  the  west,  and  turning 
toward  the  tree-clad  slopes  of  the  east,  we  stood  in  the 
wind,  with  the  everlasting  blue  above  and  the  glorious 
and  never-failing  green  beneath.  Unconsciously  there 
sprang  to  my  lips  Joaquin  Miller's  lines: 

And  ever  and  ever  His  boundless  blue, 
And  ever  and  ever  His  green,  green  sod, 
And  ever  and  ever  between  the  two 
Walk  the  wonderful  winds  of  God. 


I 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       i8i 

Braving  the  wind  and  looking  over  the  steep  precipice 
to  the  west  we  see,  some  four  hundred  or  five  hundred  feet 
below  us,  so  that  it  seems  that  we  might  almost  throw  a 
stone  into  it,  a  small  lake.  This  is  Bessie  Lake,  named 
after  Mrs.  C.  F.  Kohl,  of  Idlewyld.  It  discharges  its 
surplus  waters  into  Blackwood  Creek,  and  has  several  times 
been  stocked  with  fish.  In  the  mid-distance  is  Loon  Lake, 
which  is  the  head-waters  of  the  California  Ditch,  which 
follows  over  the  Georgetown  Divide,  carries  water  some 
forty  to  fifty  miles,  and  is  distributed  by  its  owners,  the 
Reno  Water  and  Electric  Power  Co.,  for  mining,  irrigation 
and  domestic  purposes. 

East  of  Loon  Lake  are  Spider  and  Pleasant  Lakes,  all  of 
which  we  are  told  are  connected  with  one  another  and 
controlled  by  the  same  company.  Another  lake,  Bixly  or 
Bixby,  slightly  to  the  north  of  Pleasant,  is  also  connected. 

To  the  east  of  Pleasant  Lake,  Buck  Island  and  Rock 
Bound  Lakes  were  dazzlingly  brilliant  in  the  mid-day 
sun. 

One  has  but  to  look  at  the  map  to  realize  what  a  com- 
prehensive survey  is  possible  in  every  direction  from  Ellis 
Peak.  There  is  no  wonder  that  it  is  so  popular.  The  pan- 
orama is  unobstructed  —  the  outlook  practically  complete 
and  perfect.  Though  the  whole  of  the  Lake  is  not  revealed, 
there  is  sufficient  of  it  to  make  a  transcendent  picture. 
Every  peak  to  the  north  and  on  the  eastern  side  is  in  sight, 
while  the  Tallac  range,  and  the  near-by  mountains  make  one 
long  for  an  aeroplane  that  he  might  step  from  peak  to  peak 
without  the  effort  of  journeying  by  land  to  their  elevated 
summits. 

On  the  left  side  of  Tinker's  Knob  is  a  peak,  unmarked 
on  the  map,  to  which  the  name  of  Lion  Peak  has  been  given, 
for  the  following  reason:  Some  years  ago  former  Governor 
Stanford's  nephew,  who  has  been  a  visitor  for  many  years 


i82      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

at  Hopkins'  Spring,  was  climbing,  together  with  a  com- 
panion, over  this  peak,  when  they  came  to  a  cave.  Light- 
ing a  rude  torch  they  thoughtlessly  entered  it  and  had  barely 
got  well  inside  before  they  saw  the  two  fierce  eyes  of  a 
mountain  lion  glaring  at  them.  Surprised  and  startled, 
they  were  about  to  turn  and  run,  when  the  astonished  ani- 
mal sprang  past  them  and  disappeared  before  they  recol- 
lected they  had  a  gun. 

It  should  not  be  overlooked  that  Ellis  Peak  is  the  most 
eastern  mountain  of  the  Sierran  divide.  East,  its  drainage 
empties  into  Lake  Tahoe  and  thus  eastward  into  the  Big 
Basin;  west,  into  the  Rubicon,  thence  to  the  American,  the 
Sacramento  and  finally  out  by  the  Golden  Gate  to  the 
Pacific. 

To  the  west  of  the  Rubicon  Peaks  is  a  chain  of  lakes  in 
the  valley  below  known  as  the  Rock  Bound  Lakes.  There 
are  nine  of  these  in  all,  though  several  of  them  are  practi- 
cally unknown  except  to  the  few  guides  and  the  sheep-men 
who  range  over  the  surrounding  mountains. 

As  far  as  the  eye  can  see,  westward,  there  are  distinct 
glacial  markings,  a  wonderful  revelation  of  the  wide- 
spread and  far-reaching  activity  of  these  glaciers  borne  on 
the  highest  crests  of  the  Sierras.  The  canyon  in  which 
the  Rubicon  River  flows  is  definitely  outlined,  as  is  also 
the  deep  chasm  known  as  Hell  Hole.  Near  by  is  Bear 
Lake,  about  the  same  size  and  appearance  as  Watson  Lake, 
its  overflow  emptying  into  the  Rubicon. 

Close  at  hand  to  the  north  and  west  are  Barker's  Peak, 
Barker's  Pass,  and  Barker's  Creek,  and  these  decide  us  to 
go  home  by  way  of  Barker's  Pass  instead  of  the  way  we 
came.  Accordingly  we  drop  down,  returning  a  short  dis- 
tance to  the  south,  over  the  western  slope  of  Ellis  Peak  to 
Ellis  Valley.  Both  peak  and  valley  receive  their  name  from 
Jock  Ellis,  a  Squaw  Valley  stay-behind,  who  entered  the 


TRAIL  TRIPS  IN  THE  TAHOE  REGION       183 

cattle  and  sheep  business,  and  pastured  his  animals  in  this 
rich  and  well-watered   region. 

On  our  way  we  pass  through  the  most  remarkable  white 
fir  nursery  we  have  yet  seen.  Not  far  away  were  a  few 
hoary  monarchs  from  the  still  hanging  but  burst  open  cones 
of  which  winged  seeds  were  flying  before  the  breeze.  These 
potential  firs  were  carried  in  many  cases  over  a  mile  before 
they  found  lodgement.  It  was  a  beautiful  and  delightful 
demonstration  of  Nature's  lavish  method  of  preserving  this 
useful  species  of  tree  alive. 

Sweeping  now  to  the  north  and  east  we  make  a  rapid 
descent  of  some  six  hundred  or  seven  hundred  feet  to  Bark- 
er's Pass,  the  elevation  of  which  is  about  7000  to  7500 
feet,  the  nearby  Peak  having  an  elevation  of  about  8500 
feet.  It  is  a  round,  bare  mountain,  and  seems  as  if  it  ought 
to  be  marked  higher  (on  the  map)   than  it  is. 

Rapidly  dropping  we  come  to  a  peculiar  mass  of  stratified 
rock,  acutely  tilted,  unlike  any  found  elsewhere  in  the  re- 
gion except  on  Five  Lake  Creek  on  the  way  to  Hell  Hole. 
Just  before  reaching  Blackwood's  Creek  the  trail  passes 
through  rude  piles  of  breccia  similar  to  that  of  the  Devil's 
Playground  neair  the  Truckee  River.  It  may  be  perfectly 
possible  that  one  of  the  volcanic  flows  that  covered  large 
portions  of  the  High  Sierras,  after  the  Cretaceous  degra- 
dations had  taken  place,  came  from  a  vent,  or  volcano,  near 
by,  and  slowly  flowed  down  Blackwood  Creek,  leaving 
vast  masses  behind  which  have  rapidly  disintegrated  until 
these  are  all  that  remain. 

These  conjectures  occupy  our  brain  until  we  reach  the 
Lake  again,  alongside  of  which  the  road  soon  brings  us 
back  to  our  starting  point,  after  another  most  enjoyable, 
instructive,  healthful  and  delightful  day. 

The  foregoing  are  but  samples  of  a  hundred  similar  trail 
trips  that  can  be  taken  from  every  part  of  the  Lake,  and 


i84      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

from  all  the  resorts.  Each  place  has  its  chosen  trips,  and 
though,  of  course,  there  are  many  points  of  similarity,  there 
are  enough  individualities  to  make  each  trip  distinctive. 

My  friends  often  ask  me  what  food  and  drink  I  take 
along  on  such  hiking  or  riding  trips.  Generally  the  hotel 
provides  a  luncheon,  but  personally,  I  prefer  a  few  Grant's 
crackers  (a  thick,  hard  cracker  full  of  sweet  nutriment, 
made  at  Berkeley,  Calif. )j  a  handful  of  shelled  nuts  — 
walnuts,  peccans,  or  almonds,  a  small  bottle  of  Horlick's 
Malted  Milk  tablets,  a  few  slabs  of  Ghirardelli's  milk  choco- 
late, and  an  apple  or  an  orange.  On  this  food  I  can  ride 
or  walk  days  at  a  time,  without  anything  else.  Grant's 
crackers,  Horlick's  Malted  Milk  tablets,  and  Ghirardelli's 
chocolate  are  the  best  of  their  kind,  and  all  are  nutritious 
to  the  full,  as  well  as  delicious  to  the  taste.  For  drink  I 
find  Horlick's  Malted  Milk  the  most  comforting  and  in- 
vigorating, and  it  has  none  of  the  after  "  letting-down  ** 
effects  that  accompany  coffee  drinking. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

CAMPING-OUT   TRIPS    IN    THE   TAHOE   REGION 

THERE  are  many  trips  in  the  Tahoe  Region  which 
can  be  made,  with  greater  or  lesser  ease,  on  foot 
or  horseback,  in  one  day,  so  that  one  can  sleep 
in  his  hotel  each  night.  On  the  other  hand  there  are  some 
highly  desirable  trips  that  can  be  taken  only  by  camping- 
out,  and  to  these  I  wish  to  commend  those  of  my  readers 
of  both  sexes  who  are  strong  enough  to  care  for  such  inti- 
mate contact  with   God's  great-out-of-doors. 

To  me  one  of  Life's  greatest  delights,  appealing  alike  to 
body,  mind  and  soul,  is  a  camping-out  trip.  Breathing  day 
and  night  the  pure  air  of  mountain  and  forest, —  occasion- 
ally swept  by  breezes  from  desert  and  ocean, —  exercising 
one's  body  into  vigorous  healthfulness,  sweating  in  the  sun 
with  life-giving  labor, —  even  though  it  be  only  tramping 
or  riding  up  and  down  trails, —  sauntering  over  meadows, 
rambling  and  exploring  untrailed  spaces,  under  giant  sky- 
piercing  trees;  lying  down  at  night  on  the  restful  brown 
Mother  Earth;  sleeping  peacefully  and  dreamlessly  through 
delicious  star-and-moon-lit  nights,  cooled  and  refreshed  by 
the  night  winds,  awakening  in  the  morning  full  of  new 
life  and  vigor,  to  feel  the  fresh  tang  of  the  air  and  the 
cool  shock  of  the  wash  (or  even  plunge)  in  the  snow-or- 
spring-fed  stream;  companioning  with  birds  and  bees,  chip- 
munks and  squirrels,  grouse  and  quail,  deer  and  antelope, 
trees  and  plants,  shrubs  and  flow^ers,  lava  and  granite,  lakes 
and  creeks,  rivers  and  ponds;  smelling  the  sweet  fragrance 

185 


i86      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

of  the  trees,  shrubs,  plants  and  vines;  bathing  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  calm  and  quiet  that  seems  almost  Divine;  covered 
with  a  sky  as  cloudless  and  pure  blue  as  the  dome  of 
heaven  itself,  and  which,  at  night,  changes  into  a  rich  blue- 
black  velvet,  studded  with  silvery  emblazonments,  that  dance 
and  dazzle  in  the  pellucid  air;  listening  to  the  varied  voices 
of  Nature,  each  eager  to  give  tongue  to  its  joy;  eating 
healthful,  simple  food  with  appetite  and  relish;  absorbing 
the  assurance  that  Nature  means  good  and  nothing  but 
good  to  man,  thus  coming  nearer  to  the  heart  of  God ;  los- 
ing the  fret  and  worry  of  money-getting  and  all  other  of 
Life's  lower  ambitions  and  strivings;  feeling  the  inflow  of 
strength, —  physical,  mental  and  spiritual;  gaining  calm- 
ness, serenity,  poise  and  power ;  —  is  there  any  wonder  that 
a  man  so  blessed  should  speak  and  write  with  radiant  and 
exuberant  enthusiasm  of  that  which  has  been  so  lavish  to 
him.     This  is  what  camping-out    (in  part)    means  to  me. 

Hence,  when  I  leave  home  for  a  mountain  trip  I  always 
put  into  my  Indestructo  ^  an  extra  blue  flannel  shirt,  riding 
boots  and  breeches  (or  a  pair  of  overalls),  a  cap,  and  a  bottle 
of  vaseline.  The  hunter  and  fisherman,  of  course,  will 
bring  his  especial  equipment,  as,  also,  will  the  geologist  or 
botanist. 

The  first  essentials  of  a  successful  camping-out  trip  are 
personal.  One  must  have  the  receptive  and  acceptive  spirit. 
No  matter  what  comes  it  is  for  the  best;  an  experience 
worth  having.  Nothing  must  be  complained  of.  The 
"  grouch  "  has  no  place  on  a  camping-trip,  and  one  who  is 
a   "  grouch,"   a  "  sissy,"   a  "  faultfinder,"   a  "  worrier,"   a 

1  Indestructo  is  the  name  given  to  a  trunk  that  has  been  such  a 
delight  to  me  for  its  enduring  and  useful  qualities,  that  I  cannot 
refrain  from  "  passing  it  on."  A  poor  trunk,  to  a  constant  traveler, 
is  a  perpetual  nuisance  and  worry.  My  trunks  always  gave  me 
trouble  until  I  got  an  Indestructo.  Since  then  I  have  had  freedom 
from  all  such  distress.     It  is  fully  insured  for  five  years. 


CAMPING-OUT  TRIPS  IN  TAHOE  REGION    187 

"  quitter,"  or  who  cannot  or  will  not  enter  fully  into  the 
spirit  of  the  thing  had  better  stay  at  home. 

If  experiences  are  met  with  that  are  disagreeable,  meet 
them  as  a  man  should ;  a  woman  always  does, —  or  always 
has  on  trips  taken  with  me.  The  "  self-pitier,"  the  "  self- 
indulgent,"  the  "  fearful "  also  had  better  stay  at  home. 

The  next  essentials  are  a  good  guide  —  such  as  is  sug- 
gested by  the  Dedication  of  this  book  —  and  good  saddle-and- 
pack-animals,  good  bedding,  good  food  and  the  proper  season. 
Then  if  the  spot  you  have  chosen  contains  anything  worth 
while,  you  cannot  fail  to  have  an  enjoyable,  interesting,  edu- 
cative,  health-giving  and   generally  profitable  time. 

In  outfitting  for  such  a  trip  always  put  into  your  pocket 
(and  in  the  pack  a  reserve  supply)  a  few  Grant's  crackers, 
a  handful  of  Horlick's  Malted  Milk  tablets,  and  a  cake  of 
Ghirardelli's  chocolate.  With  these  you  are  safe  for  a  whole 
day  or  two,  or  more,  if  anything  should  happen  to  separate 
you  from  your  pack  animal,  or  you  should  desire  to  ride  on 
without  stopping  to  prepare  a  noon,  or  later,  camp  meal. 

The  Tahoe  Region  offers  scores  of  just  such  trips,  where 
for  one  or  two  months  each  year  for  a  dozen  years  a  visi- 
tor may  camp-out  in  some  new  region.  For  instance,  every 
student  of  God's  handiwork  should  go  up  to  Deer  Park, 
camp-out  at  Five  Lakes,  and  study  the  evidences  of  lava 
flows  at  the  head  of  Bear  Creek.  Go  to  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods  and  spend  a  week  there,  tracing  the  glacial  move- 
ments that  made  Desolation  Valley.  Take  such  a  trip  as 
I  enjoyed  to  Hell  Hole  on  the  Rubicon,  but  take  more 
time  for  it  than  I  could  give;  cross  the  range  to  the 
Yosemite,  and  thus  link  the  two  sublimest  parts  of  the 
Sierras  in  your  memory;  follow  the  old  trails  that  used  to 
echo  to  the  voices  of  pioneers  from  Michigan  Bluff,  Last 
Chance,  Hayden  Hill,  etc. ;  go  out  with  one  of  the  Forest 
Rangers  and  get  a  glimpse  into  his  wonderful  life  of  ac- 


i88      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

tivity,  independence  and  solitude.  Thus  you  will  come  in 
contact  with  larger  conceptions,  fuller  ideas,  deeper  sympa- 
thies, higher  aspirations  than  is  possible  where  you  follow 
the  ordinary  routine  of  the  ordinary,  mediocre,  self-contented 
man.  Thank  God  for  the  spark  of  discontent,  of  ambition, 
of  aspiration,  of  desire  to  see  beyond,  to  know  more,  to  climb 
higher,  to  solve  the  mysteries,  to  abolish  the  unknown. 

Then,  if  you  dare  the  perils  and  joys  of  winter,  get  Bob 
Watson,  or  some  other  expert  on  snow-shoes  to  go  with 
you  over  Tahoe's  wild  wastes  of  snow.  Emulate  Snow- 
shoe  Thompson,  a  short  sketch  of  whose  life  and  adven- 
tures will  be  found  in  my  book.  Heroes  of  California,  and 
henceforth  the  days  and  nights  of  spring,  summer,  fall  and 
winter  will  never  seem  quite  the  same  to  you. 

Merely  as  a  sample,  the  balance  of  this  chapter  is  devoted 
to  the  trip  made  in  the  fall  of  19 13  with  Watson  from 
Tahoe  Tavern. 

TO    HELL    HOLE    AND   THE   RUBICON    RIVER 

I  certainly  think  I  can  conjecture  with  accuracy  the  way 
it  received  its  name.  The  trails  in  and  out  were  first  made 
and  used  by  the  wild  animals  —  bear,  deer,  antelope,  moun- 
tain lions,  etc.,  then  by  the  first  Americans  —  the  Indians, 
and  at  last,  by  the  white  man.  Undoubtedly  the  first 
whites  to  come  over  the  trails  were  miners  from  the  George- 
town and  Placerville  districts,  lured  by  the  marvelous  dis- 
coveries of  the  Comstock  lode  in  Virginia  City.  Then  in 
1862-3  came  the  Squaw  Valley  stampede  and  this  "strike" 
being  so  much  nearer  than  the  Comstock  naturally  at- 
tracted much  attention,  especially  as  the  California  mines 
of  the  Sierra  Nevada  were  becoming  less  profitable.  One 
of  these  old  miners,  whose  language  was  more  luridly  pic- 
turesque than  refined,  on  coming  into  the  region  or  going 
out  of  it, —  when  he  struck  the  rough,  rugged,  uncertain, 


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GLENP.ROOK  ON   THE  NE\'A1)A   SIDE  OF  LAKE  TAHOE 


'HE  STE\MER   TAHOE,  XV  '1111     W  il  \KI\  JUST  I5EE0KE  START- 
ING AROU.NlJ    lliE   LAKE 


CAMPING-OUT  TRIPS  IN  TAHOE  REGION    189 

rocky,  and  exceedingly  steep  grade,  must  have  called  it  a 
"  hell  of  a  hole  "  to  get  into  or  out  of,  and  in  future  refer- 
ences the  name  stuck  until,  at  last,  it  was  passed  down  to 
future  ages  on  the  maps  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  as 
the  true  and  correct  name. 

But  if  the  reader  thinks  the  name  in  the  slightest  degree 
characteristic  of  the  place  itself  he  never  made  a  greater 
blunder.  Instead,  it  is  a  paradise  of  delightful  surprises. 
A  large,  fairly  level  area  —  hundreds  of  acres  at  least  — 
through  which  runs  the  clear  and  pellucid  waters  of  the 
Rubicon  River  on  their  way  to  join  those  of  the  American, 
and  dotted  all  over  with  giant  cedars,  pines,  firs  and  live 
oaks,  with  tiny  secluded  meadows,  lush  with  richest  grasses, 
it  is  a  place  to  lure  the  city-dweller  for  a  long  and  profitable 
vacation.  Whether  he  hunts,  fishes,  botanizes,  geologizes  or 
merely  loafs  and  invites  his  soul,  it  is  equally  fascinating, 
and  he  is  a  wise  man  who  breaks  loose  from  "  Society  " — 
spelled  with  either  a  capital  or  small  letter  —  the  bank,  the 
office,  the  counting-house,  the  store,  the  warehouse,  the  mill, 
or  the  factory,  and,  with  a  genial  companion  or  two,  buries 
himself  away  from  the  outer  world  in  this  restful,  peaceful, 
and  God-blessed  solitude. 

When  I  first  saw  it  I  exclaimed :  "  Hell  Hole  ?  Then 
give  me  more  of  it,"  and  instead  of  hastening  on  to  other 
places  of  well-known  charm,  I  insisted  upon  one  day  at 
least  of  complete  rest  to  allow  its  perfection  to  "  seep  in  " 
and  become  a  part  of  my  intimate  inner  life  of  remembrance. 

It  was  under  Bob  Watson's  efficient  guidance  I  left  Tahoe 
Tavern,  for  a  five  day  trip.  We  took  a  pack-horse  well 
laden  with  grub,  utensils  for  cooking  and  our  sleeping  bags. 
Riding  down  the  Truckee,  up  Bear  Creek,  past  Deer  Park 
Springs,  I  was  struck  more  forcibly  than  ever  before  by  the 
marvelous  glacial  phenomena  in  the  amphitheater  at  the 
head  of  the  canyon  through  a  portion  of  which  the  trail 


I90      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

passes,  and  also  with  the  volcanic  masses  that  rest  upon  the 
granite,  mainly  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  pass.  Its  first 
appearance  shows  a  cap  of  from  two  hundred  to  three  hun- 
dred feet  in  thickness;  later  on  two  other  patches  of  it  ap- 
pear, the  upper  one  presenting  the  granite  and  superposed 
granite  on  the  same  level,  clearly  indicating  a  channel  of 
early  erosion  filled  up  by  the  later  flow  of  volcanic  matter. 

Passing  by  Five  Lakes  and  down  Five  Lake  Creek  to  its 
junction  with  the  canyon  down  which  we  had  come  from 
the  Little  American  Valley,  we  were  soon  headed  down 
the  creek  for  the  Rubicon.  To  the  right  towered  Mt.  Mil- 
dred (8400  feet),  on  the  other  side  of  which  is  Shank's 
Cove.  Shank  was  a  sheep-man  who  for  years  ran  his  sheep 
here  during  the  summer,  taking  them  down  to  the  Sacra- 
mento Valley  in  winter.  After  passing  several  grassy 
meadows,  Cottonwood  groves,  and  alder  thickets  we  reached 
Bear  Pen  Creek,  a  rocky,  bone-dry  crossing,  nine  miles 
from  the  divide.  To  the  left.  Powder  Horn  Creek  comes 
in,  which  heads  on  the  northwestern  slope  of  the  ridge,  on 
which,  on  the  southern  side,  Barker  Creek  has  its  rise.  It 
received  this  peculiar  name  from  the  fact  that  General 
Phipps,  from  whom  Phipps  Peak  is  named,  was  once  chasing 
a  bear,  when  suddenly  the  infuriated  animal  turned  upon 
him,  made  a  savage  strike  at  him  with  his  paw  and  suc- 
ceeded in  knocking  the  bottom  out  of  his  old-fashioned 
powder-horn. 

Further  down  we  came  suddenly  upon  a  hawk  who  had 
just  captured  a  grouse,  and  taken  off  his  head.  As  the  bird 
dropped  his  prey  on  our  approach  we  took  it  as  a  gift  of  the 
gods,  and  next  morning,  with  two  or  three  quail,  it  made 
an  excellent  breakfast  for  us. 

Nearing  the  descent  into  Hell  Hole  we  gained  striking 
glimpses  of  a  great  glacially-formed  valley  in  the  moun- 
tains on  the  farther  side,  while  a  ridge  to  our  left  revealed 


CAMPING-OUT  TRIPS  IN  TAHOE  REGION    191 

a  cap  of  volcanic  rock  apparently  of  columnar  structure  and 
extending  from  the  eastern  end  half  way  the  length  of  the 
ridge. 

Watson  assured  me  that  here  he  has  found  herds  of  six- 
teen and  nineteen  deer,  on  separate  occasions.  They  seem 
to  follow,  in  the  early  spring,  the  line  of  the  melting  snow. 
At  this  time  they  are  tame  and  fearless,  and  will  stand 
and  look  at  you  with  surprise  and  impatience.  They  sel- 
dom run  away.  On  one  occasion  he  came  upon  a  doe  and 
two  fawns  not  far  from  the  brink  or  ridge  of  Hell  Hole. 
He  was  close  upon  them  before  he  was  aware,  but  stopped 
suddenly.  The  doe  saw  him,  but  instead  of  turning  to  flee 
she  stood  and  impatiently  stamped  her  foot  several  times. 
Then  as  he  seemed  to  pay  no  attention  and  to  be  harmless, 
she  and  her  young  began  to  graze  again,  and  shortly  disap- 
peared. 

Before  long  we  arrived  at  what  may  be  called  the 
"  jumping-off  place."  In  reality  it  is  a  steep  descent  into 
the  depths  of  a  wide  canyon,  but  earth  has  so  lodged  in  the 
rocky  slopes  that  they  are  covered  with  dense  growths  of 
trees  and  chaparral,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  see  very  far 
ahead.  Down,  down,  down  we  went,  winding  and  twist- 
ing, curving  around  and  dodging,  but  getting  deeper  with 
every  zig-zag  until  almost  as  suddenly  as  we  began  the 
steep  descent  we  found  ourselves  on  a  fairly  level  platform. 
Hell  Hole  was  reached. 

The  day  spent  here  was  a  delightful  one.  While  Wat- 
son fished  I  wrote,  loafed,  rambled  about,  studied  the  rock 
formations,  and  wished  for  a  week  or  more  instead  of  a 
day. 

Next  morning  we  struck  into  the  canyon  of  the  Rubicon 
River,  for  Soda  Spring,  half  a  mile  away,  where  salt  and 
soda  exude  in  such  quantities  as  to  whiten  the  rocks.  Here 
the  deer,  bear,  grouse,  quail,  ground-hogs,  and  other  crea- 


192      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

tures  come  for  salt.  Indeed,  this  is  a  natural  "  salt  lick," 
and  there  are  eight  or  ten  piles  of  rock,  behind  which  In- 
dian and  white  hunters  used  to  watch  for  the  coming  of 
the  game  they  desired  to  kill.  Twenty  years  ago  one  could 
get  game  here  practically  every  day.  The  Washoes  used  to 
descend  the  western  slope  as  far  as  this;  the  men  for  deer, 
the  women  for  acorns,  though  they  had  to  be  on  the  alert 
as  the  Sierra  Indians  resented  their  intrusion. 

Right  and  left  as  we  rode  on  there  were  great  "  islands  " 
of  granite,  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  high,  masses  that  either 
had  been  hurled  from  the  heights  above  in  some  cataclysm, 
or  planed  to  their  present  shape  by  long-forgotten  glaciers. 
These  granite  masses  alternate  with  flower  and  shrub-be- 
strewed meadows  that  once  were  glacial  lakes.  At  times 
we  found  ourselves  in  a  dense  forest  where  the  trees  were 
ancient  monarchs,  whose  solitudes  had  never  been  disturbed 
by  stroke  of  ax,  or  grate  of  saw.  Clumps  of  dogwood  and 
chaparral  of  a  dozen  kinds  confuse  the  tyro,  and  he  loses 
all  sense  of  direction.  Only  the  instinct  that  makes  a  real 
mountain  and  forest  guide  could  enable  one  successfully  to 
navigate  these  overgrown  wilds,  for  we  were  now  wander- 
ing up  a  region  where  trails  had  been  abandoned  for  years. 
Here  and  there,  when  we  came  to  the  rocky  slopes  "  ducks  "  ^ 
in  confusing  variety  were  found  but  scarce  a  sign  of  a  trail, 
and  the  "  blazes  "  on  the  trees  were  more  confusing  than 
if  we  had  been  left  to  our  own  devices. 

Yellow  jackets'  nests  hung  from  many  branches,  and  we 
were  now  and  then  pestered  by  the  flying  creatures  them- 
selves. Then  we  had  a  good  laugh.  Our  pack-horse,  Sho- 
shone, got  between  two  trees.  His  head  could  pass  but  his 
pack  couldn't,  and  there  he  stood  struggling  to  pull  through. 
He  couldn't   do   it,   but   stupidly   he   would    not   back   up. 

1  Ducks  are  small  piles  of  stone  so  placed  as  to  denote  the  course 
of  the  trail. 


I 


CAMPING-OUT  TRIPS  IN  TAHOE  REGION    193 

Talk  about  horse-sense!  A  burro  would  have  backed  up  in 
a  minute,  but  most  horses  would  struggle  in  such  a  place  un- 
til they  died. 

Near  here  there  came  into  sight  a  granite  ridge  between 
the  Rubicon  and  Five  Lake  Creek.  This  grows  higher  un- 
til it  becomes  quite  a  mountain,  between  Five  Lake  Creek 
and  Barker  Creek.  On  the  right  McKinstry  Peak  (7918 
feet)  towered  up,  with  its  double  top,  leading  the  eye  along 
a  ridge  of  red  granite  rock  to  Red  Peak. 

About  three  miles  up  the  canyon  we  found  a  number  of 
rocky  basins  in  the  course  of  the  Rubicon  with  water,  eight, 
ten  and  more  feet  deep  in  them,  temptingly  suggesting  a 
plunge.  I  didn't  need  much  tempting,  and  as  quickly  as 
I  could  disrobe  I  had  plunged  in.  What  a  cold,  invigorat- 
ing shock  it  was.  There's  nothing  like  such  a  plunge  for 
thoroughly  arousing  one  and  sending  the  blood  quickly 
coursing  through  his  veins. 

Nearby  were  great  beds  of  brake-ferns,  four  and  five  feet 
high,  groves  of  immense  alders,  sugar  pines,  some  of  which 
were  fully  eight  feet  through  and  the  trunks  of  which  were 
honeycombed  with  woodpecker  holes.  I  saw  and  heard 
several  woodpeckers  at  work.  They  had  red  top-knots,  and 
the  noise  they  made  echoed  through  the  woods  more  as  if 
a  sledge  hammer  had  struck  the  tree  than  the  bill  of  a  bird. 
How  they  climb  up  the  trunk  of  the  trees,  holding  on  in  a 
mysterious  fashion  and  moving  head  up  or  down,  as  they 
desire,  with  jerky  little  pulls,  bobbing  their  heads  as  if 
emphasizing  some  remarks  they  were  making  to  themselves. 

And  what  ideal  spots  for  camping-out  we  passed,  shady 
trees,  nearby  meadows,  to  give  abundant  feed  for  the 
horses,  the  pure  waters  of  the  Rubicon  close  by,  with  scen- 
ery, trees,  flowers,  animals,  birds  —  all  the  glory  of  na- 
ture—  surrounding  one  with  objects  of  delight,  interest  and 
study. 


194      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

One  large  area  was  strewn  with  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  the  big  long  cones  of  the  sugar  pine.  When  one  wishes 
to  pack  and  ship  home  specimens  of  these  and  other  cones, 
it  is  well  to  soak  them  in  water.  They  then  close  up  and 
carry  safely,  opening  up  as  before,  as  they  dry  out. 

Then  we  passed  some  giant  "  wind  falls,"  mainly  spruces. 
The  roots  of  these  monarchs  of  the  forest  had  twined  them- 
selves around  rocks  of  every  size  and  shape,  some  of  them 
massive  bowlders,  but  when  the  storm  came,  the  purchase, 
or  leverage  of  the  tall  trees  was  so  great  that  these  heavy 
rock-masses  were  pulled  out  of  place  and  lifted  up  as  the 
trees  crashed   over   to   their   fall. 

Now  we  came  to  a  stretch  of  perfect  virgin  forest.  No 
ax,  no  saw,  no  log  chutes,  no  wagons,  no  dragging  of  logs, 
no  sign  of  the  hand  of  man.  Nature  was  the  only  woods- 
man, with  her  storms  and  winds,  her  snows  and  rains,  to 
soften  the  soil  and  uproot  her  growing  sons  and  daughters. 
There  was  confusion  in  places,  even  rude  chaos,  but  in  and 
through  and  above  it  all  a  cleanness,  a  sweetness,  a  purity, 
a  grandeur,  harmony,  glory,  beauty  and  majesty  —  all  of 
which  disappear  when  destroying  man  comes  upon  the 
scene. 

About  five  miles  up,  we  left  the  Rubicon  and  struck  up 
toward  Barker  Creek.  Here  was  another  of  the  great, 
tempting  granite  basins,  full  of  clear  cool  water.  We  also 
passed  patches  of  belated  scarlet  larkspur,  shooting  stars, 
and  glaring  golden-rod. 

Half  a  mile  up  we  reached  Barker  Creek,  now  a  bowlder- 
strewn  arroyo  which  aroused  my  covetousness  to  high  de- 
gree. How  I  would  love  to  build,  with  my  own  hands, 
a  cottage,  bungalow  or  house  of  some  kind  with  these  great 
bowlders,  of  varied  sizes  and  colors,  shapes  and  material. 

Just  above  the  junction  of  Barker  Creek  and  the  Rubi- 
con is  "  Little  Hell  Hole,"  a  camping-place  almost  as  fa- 


CAMPING-OUT  TRIPS  IN  TAHOE  REGION    195 

mous  as  its  larger  namesake,  and  noted  for  the  fact  that  half 
a  mile  away  is  a  small  canyon  full  of  mineral  springs  — 
sulphur,  iron,  soda,  magnesia,  etc.  Naturally  it  is  a  "  deer- 
lick,"  which  makes  it  a  Mecca  during  the  open  season  to 
hunters.  The  springs  bubble  up  out  of  the  bed  of  the 
stream,  the  water  of  which  is  stained  with  the  coloring  mat- 
ter. When  the  stream  runs  low  so  that  one  can  get  to  the 
springs  he  finds  some  of  them  as  pleasant  to  the  taste  as 
those  of  Rubicon  and  Glen  Alpine. 

As  we  got  higher  we  left  the  spruces  behind,  and  the 
junipers,  covered  with  berries,  began  to  appear.  Then  we 
came  to  open  spaces  where  the  wind  began  to  sing  in  the 
tops  of  the  pines. 

About  a  mile  up  Barker  Creek,  Watson  showed  me  the 
course  of  one  of  his  trails  back  to  the  Tavern.  It  ascends 
a  formidable  ridge  and  leads  quickly  to  Idlewyld,  but  we 
were  bound  for  Rubicon  Springs.  The  old  trail  was  in- 
accessible, but  Mr.  Colwell  of  the  Springs  had  lately 
marked  out  a  new  trail,  so  we  took  our  chances  on  finding 
our  way  somehow.  Over  windfalls,  up  and  down  and 
around  rocky  promontories,  we  came  to  West  Meadow 
Creek  Wash,  its  rude  bowlder-strewn  course  striking  di- 
rectly across  our  path.  Here  we  struck  beds  of  brakes 
nestling  in  the  shade  of  giant  trees.  On  the  left  side  of  the 
creek  where  we  were,  we  ran  into  dense  clumps  of  wild- 
cherry  which  prevented  further  progress.  Scouting  found 
us  an  outlet  on  the  other  side  of  Barker  Creek.  The  di- 
vide on  the  left  towered  up  with  rugged  majesty,  reddish 
in  color,  and  split  into  gigantic  irregular  terraces,  the 
taluses  of  which  were  all  crowded  with  dense  chaparral 
growths. 

On  this  side  the  slopes  were  all  more  open,  nothing  but 
rugged    bowlders   clinging   on   the   bare   surfaces. 

How  enjoyable  was  this  forcing  our  way  along  through 


196      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

these  solitary  wilderness  places,  so  that  I  was  really  sorry 
when  we  finally  dropped  over  a  forested  slope  into  the  Ru- 
bicon Springs  and  McKinney's  Road.  A  mile  away  we 
found  the  hotel,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Colwell.  The  build- 
ings are  old  but  all  nature  is  gloriously  grand  and  beauti- 
ful. 

Though  cordially  invited  to  stay  overnight,  we  pushed 
on  over  the  Rubicon  River,  up  the  hill  on  part  of  the 
Georgetown  road  for  a  mile  and  a  half, —  from  which  we 
had  a  fine  view  of  Buck  Island  Lake, —  struck  the  trail  for 
another  mile  and  in  the  early  afternoon  made  camp  at  Rock 
Bound  Lake.  Here  we  rowed  and  swam,  studied  the 
country  from  the  nearby  hills,  and  then  slept  the  sleep  of 
the  healthfully  weary  under  the  blue  vault  of  heaven. 

Though  Rubicon  Springs  was  not  far  away  there  was 
such  an  air  of  quietude  in  this  spot  that  we  felt  as  if  we 
were  in  one  of  Nature's  choicest  retreats. 

Returning  to  Rubicon  we  followed  the  road  back  to 
where  we  had  struck  it  the  day  before.  The  old  trail  from 
McKinney's  used  to  come  over  the  divide  from  the  east  and 
strike  the  Rubicon  near  where  we  then  stood,  pass  by  the 
Springs  and  then  follow  the  river,  but  to  avoid  the  steep 
grades  the  road  had  to  be  constructed  around  by  Buck  Island 
Lake. 

Those  who  ride  into  Rubicon  Springs  from  McKinney's, 
just  as  they  make  the  last  descent,  have  a  wonderful  view 
of  Georgetown  Mountain  before  them.  Its  sloping  side  is 
glacially  planed  off  at  a  steep  angle,  and  it  reveals  the  vast 
extent  the  great  ice  field  must  have  covered  in  the  days  of 
glacial  activity.  Many  bowlders  near  the  Springs  are  very 
strongly  marked  by  glacial  action. 

About  a  mile  from  the  Springs  we  came  to  a  tree  on  which 
a  "  cut-off "  sign  was  placed.  When  the  road  was  being 
constructed  the  builders  started  a  new  grade  at  this  point 


CAMPING-OUT  TRIPS  IN  TAHOE  REGION    197 

and  after  going  for  a  mile  or  so  found  it  was  so  steep  that 
it  had  to  be  abandoned  and  a  lesser  grade  found  by  going 
around. 

From  the  summit  we  could  clearly  follow  the  course  of 
the  Little  Rubicon,  and  also  secured  an  excellent  view  of  the 
sharp  point  of  Rubicon  Peak  (9193  feet). 

A  stiff  and  cool  breeze  was  blowing  from  the  west  so 
we  were  not  sorry  to  find  shelter  from  the  wind  as  we  en- 
tered a  wooded  park,  where  the  song  of  the  pines  cheered 
us  on  our  way.  Soon  we  struck  the  road  and  followed  it 
until  we  came  to  the  headwaters  of  Miller's  Creek  on  the 
right.  Miller  used  to  run  sheep  up  in  the  meadows,  which 
afford  a  smooth  grade  for  the  road  for  some  distance. 
There  are  many  alders  here,  which  bear  mute  though  pow- 
erful testimony,  in  the  shape  of  their  gnarled  and  bent  over 
ground-groveling  trunks,   of  the  heavy  winters'  snows. 

These  meadows  clearly  were  once  glacial  lakes,  now  filled 
up,  and  Miller's  Creek  was  the  instrument  of  their  destruc- 
tion. Crossing  the  last  of  the  meadows  we  came  to  Bur- 
ton's Pass,  so  called  from  H.  D.  Burton,  another  Placerville 
pioneer  who  used  to  cut  hay  here,  pack  it  on  mules  to  ]\Ic- 
Kinney's,  and  then  ship  it  across  to  Lakeside,  where  he  sold 
it  for  $80  to  $100  a  ton.  We  then  passed  McKinney's  old 
cabin,  the  place  he  built  and  occupied  in  1863,  before  he 
went  to  live  at  the  Lake.  Only  a  few  fragments  now  re- 
main, time  and  storms  having  nearly  completed  the  work 
of  destruction. 

Nearby  was  a  beautiful  lily  pond,  soon  to  be  a  meadow, 
and  just  bej'ond  this  we  stood  on  the  actual  divide  between 
the  Great  Basin  and  the  Pacific.  We  were  at  the  head  of 
Phipps  Creek,  named  on  the  map  General  Creek,  from  Gen- 
eral Phipps.  At  the  mouth  of  the  creek  this  pioneer  located 
on  160  acres,  which,  when  he  died  about  1883,  ^^as  sold  to 
M.  H.  de  Young,  of  the  San  Francisco  Chronicle.     After 


198      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

holding  It  for  many  years  he  sold  it  in  turn  to  L  Hellman, 
the  banker,  who  now  uses  it  as  his  summer  estate,  having 
built  a  fine  residence  upon  it. 

Near  here  we  lunched  at  a  sheep-herder's  camp  and  heard 
an  interesting  story  of  the  relocation  of  an  old  mine  that 
had  helped  create  the  Squaw  Valley  excitement  forty  years 
before.  Owing  to  new  and  improved  methods  of  extract- 
ing the  precious  metal  it  is  now  deemed  that  this  may  soon 
develop  into  a  paying  property. 

Returning  to  the  road  we  passed  Jock  Ellis's  cabin,  in  a 
similar  state  of  ruin  to  that  of  McKinney.  Ellis  Peak 
(8945  feet)  is  named  after  him.  He  was  a  Squaw  Valley 
stampeder.  Nearby  we  saw  the  largest  tamarack  I  have 
yet  found  in  the  Sierras.  It  was  fully  five  feet  through  and 
fluted   in  an  interesting  and  peculiar  fashion. 

From  here  we  made  a  mile  detour  to  visit  Hank  Richards 
Lake,  a  beautiful  crystal  jewel  in  an  incomparable  wooded 
setting.  Then  back  to  Phipps  Creek,  over  a  perfect  jumble 
of  granite  bowlders  and  tree-clad  slopes  until  we  finally 
struck  the  trail  and  followed  it  to  the  Lake,  and  thence  home 
to  the  Tavern. 

The  reader  should  observe  that  in  this,  as  in  the  chapter 
on  "  Trail  Trips,"  only  a  sample  is  given  of  a  score  or 
more  of  similar  trips.  His  host  at  any  of  the  hotels  can 
suggest  others  equally  interesting. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HISTORIC   TAHOE   TOWNS 

THERE  have  been  only  three  towns  on  the  Imme- 
diate  banks   of   Lake   Tahoe,    viz.,   Tahoe   City, 
Glenbrook    and    Incline,    though    Knoxville    was 
located  on  the  Truckee  River  only  six  miles  away. 

Tahoe  City.  Tahoe  City  was  founded  in  1864  at  the 
collapse  of  the  Squaw  Valley  mining  excitement,  the  story 
of  which  is  fully  related  in  another  chapter.  Practically 
all  its  first  inhabitants  were  from  the  deserted  town  of 
Knoxyille.  They  saw  that  the  lumbering  industry  was  ac- 
tive and  its  permanence  fully  assured  so  long  as  Virginia 
City,  Gold  Hill  and  other  Nevada  mining-camps  remained 
profitable.  The  forests  around  the  Lake  seemed  inexhaust- 
ible, and  there  was  no  need  for  them  to  go  back  to  an  un- 
certainty in  the  placer  mines  of  El  Dorado  County,  when 
they  were  pretty  sure  to  be  able  to  make  a  good  living  here. 
They,  also,  probably  exercised  a  little  imagination  and  saw 
the  possibilities  of  Lake  Tahoe  as  a  health  and  pleasure 
resort.  Its  great  beauty  must  have  impressed  them  some- 
what, and  the  exploitation  of  these  features  may  have  oc- 
curred to  them. 

Anyhow,  in  1864,  the  Bailey  Hotel  was  erected,  and, 
later,  a  man  named  Hill  erected  the  Grand  Central.  The 
Squaw  Valley  excitement  had  attracted  a  number  from  the 
Nevada  camps,  and  when  these  men  returned  they  took 
with  them  glowing  accounts  of  the  beauty  of  Lake  Tahoe, 
and  of  the  fishing  and  hunting  to  be  enjoyed  there.  Thus 
the  Lake  received  some  of  its  earliest  resort  patronage. 

199 


200      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

During  lumbering  days  it  was  an  active,  bustling  place, 
being  the  nearest  town  to  which  the  loggers,  drivers,  tree- 
fellers,  millmen  and  others  could  flee  for  their  weekly  recre- 
ation and  periodic  carouses.  Yet  it  must  not  be  thought 
that  the  town  was  wholly  given  over  to  roughness.  Helen 
Hunt  Jackson,  a  widely  traveled  and  observant  woman  of 
finest  susceptibilities,  says  of  the  Lake  Tahoe  House,  which 
she  visited  in  stage-coach  days,  that  it  was  "  one  of  the  very 
best  in  all  California."  It  was  the  stopping-place  of  the 
elite  who  came  to  see  and  enjoy  Tahoe,  and  until  later  and 
more  fashionable  hotels  were  built  around  the  Lake  enjoyed 
great  popularity. 

As  soon  as  the  logging  industry  declined  Tahoe  City  be- 
gan to  go  down,  and  only  the  fishing  and  tourist  interests 
kept  It  alive. 

When  the  railway  was  moved  over  from  Glenbrook  and 
the  shops  and  yard  of  the  Transportation  Company  were 
established  here  it  regained  some  of  its  former  activity  and 
life,  and  is  now  the  chief  business  center  on  the  LaTce.  It 
is  the  headquarters  of  the  campers  who  come  for  pleasure 
each  year,  and  its  store  does  a  very  large  and  thriving  busi- 
ness. New  cottages  are  being  erected  and  it  is  destined  ere 
long  to  be  a  stirring  pleasure  resort  town,  for,  as  the  de- 
lights of  Tahoe  become  more  widely  known,  every  available 
piece  of  land  will  increase  in  value  and  where  there  is  now 
one  summer  home  there  will  be  a  hundred. 

Glenbrook.  On  the  Nevada  side  of  the  Lake,  Glen- 
brook used  to  be  one  of  the  most  active,  busy,  bustling 
towns  in  the  west.  It  scarcely  seems  credible  to  one  who 
visits  the  quiet,  placid  resort  of  to-day  that  when  I  first  saw 
it,  some  thirty  years  ago,  it  had  three  or  four  large  saw- 
mills in  constant  operation,  day  and  night.  It  was  then 
regarded,  and  so  designated  in  the  History  of  Nevada,  pub- 


HISTORIC  TAHOE  TOWNS  201 

Ushed  in  1881,  as  "  the  great  lumber  manufacturing  town 
of  the  state." 

The  town  was  begun  in  i860,  the  land  being  squatted 
upon  by  G.  W.  Warren,  N.  E.  Murdock,  and  R.  Walton. 
In  1 861  Captain  A.  W.  Pray  erected  a  saw-mill,  run  by 
water-power,  but  as  water  sometimes  failed,  when  the  de- 
mand for  lumber  increased,  he  changed  to  steam-power. 
He  also  secured  a  thousand  acres,  much  of  it  the  finest  tim- 
ber land,  from  the  government,  using  in  its  purchase  Sioux 
Scrip. 

Up  to  1862  the  only  way  to  travel  from  California  to 
Carson  and  Virginia  City,  south  of  Lake  Tahoe,  was  by 
the  Placerville  road  which  came  by  Bijou  and  Lakeside  and 
then  over  the  Kingsbury  Grade,  via  Friday's  Station,  after- 
ward called  Small's,  by  which  latter  name  it  is  still  known 
on  the  maps  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey.  In  1862, 
however,  a  new  road  was  projected,  branching  ofiE  to  the 
northwest  (the  left)  from  Small's,  and  following  the  east- 
ern shore  of  the  Lake,  passed  Zephyr  Cove  and  Cave  Rock 
to  Glenbrook,  thence  by  Spooner's  and  down  King's  Can- 
yon to  Carson.  This  was  called  the  Lake  Bigler  Toll 
Road  (notice  the  fact  that  "Tahoe"  was  then  officially 
designated  in  Nevada  as  "Bigler"),  and  was  completed  in 
1863. 

This  demanded  the  opening  of  a  better  class  of  hotel  for 
travelers  and  others  in  Glenbrook,  and  in  the  same  year  the 
road  was  finished  Messrs.  Winters  and  Colbath  erected  the 
"  Glenbrook  Hotel,"  which  finally  came  into  the  hands 
of  Messrs.  Yerington  and  Bliss,  who,  later,  were  the  build- 
ers of  the  railway,  the  owners  of  most  of  the  surrounding 
timberlands,  and  who  had  practical  control  of  the  major 
portion  of  the  lumber  interests.  But  prior  to  this  a  lum- 
ber-mill was  built  by  J.  H.  F.  Goff  and  George  Morrill 


202      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

in  the  northern  part  of  the  town.  This  did  a  good  business, 
for  even  in  those  early  days  common  lumber  was  worth 
$25.00  per  thousand  feet,  and  clear  lumber,  $45.00.  The 
mill  was  soon  destroyed  by  fire,  but  the  site  was  bought  by 
A.  H.  Davis  and  Son,  who  erected  a  new  mill,  which  they 
operated  for  a  while  and  then  sold  to  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co. 
It  was  not  until  1873  that  Yerington  &  Bliss  came  to  Glen- 
brook.  They  revolutionized  the  lumber  industry.  While 
Captain  Pray  had  long  used  a  steam  tug  to  raft  logs  across 
Lake  Tahoe,  the  lumber  itself  was  hauled  down  to  Carson 
and  Virginia  City.  Now,  owning  large  areas  of  timber- 
land,  operating  two  and  then  three  saw-mills  in  Glenbrook, 
and  several  others  in  the  nearby  mountains,  Messrs.  Yer- 
ington &  Bliss  sought  easier  means  of  transportation  for 
their  merchandisable  product.  They  constructed  dams  and 
reservoirs,  with  V  flumes  in  a  number  of  places,  making 
them  converge  as  near  as  possible  at  the  Summit,  some  six 
miles  from  Glenbrook.  To  this  point  they  built  a  narrow 
gauge  railway  for  the  purpose  of  transporting  the  millions 
of  feet  of  lumber  sawn  at  their  mills. 

From  Summit  a  large  V  flume  was  constructed  down 
Clear  Creek  Canyon  into  Carson  City,  and  into  this  flume 
a  constant  stream  of  water  was  poured  from  the  reservoirs 
which  carried  upon  its  bosom  another  stream  of  boards, 
timber,  studding,  joists  and  sheathing,  the  two  streams 
emptying  simultaneously  just  outside  of  Carson  City  at  a 
point  on  the  Virginia  &  Truckee  railway,  where  the  lum- 
ber was  loaded  and  thence  shipped  to  its  place  of  consump- 
tion. 

That  tremendous  amounts  of  lumber  were  being  manu- 
factured is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  official  records  of 
Douglas  County,  Nevada,  for  1875,  give  21,700,000  feet 
as  the  product  for  that  year. 

One   department   of   the   lumber  business  should   not   be 


HISTORIC  TAHOE  TOWNS  203 

overlooked  in  this  connection.  As  the  timber  disappeared 
from  the  mountain  slopes  nearest  Glenbrook,  the  operators 
were  compelled  to  go  further  afield  for  their  logs.  These 
were  cut  on  the  mountain  slopes  north,  south,  east  and 
west,  and  sent  down  the  "  chutes  "  into  the  Lake.  Where 
the  ground  was  level  great  wagons,  drawn  by  ten,  sixteen, 
twenty  oxen,  hauled  the  logs  to  the  shore,  where  they  were 
dumped  into  the  water.  Here  they  were  confined  in 
"  booms,"  consisting  of  a  number  of  long,  thin  poles  fast- 
ened together  at  the  ends  with  chains,  which  completely 
encircled  a  "  raft  "  of  logs  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  V. 
The  raft  was  then  attached,  by  strong  cables,  to  a  steamer 
and  towed  to  Glenbrook,  where  the  mills  were  so  located 
that  the  logs  were  drawn  up  from  the  Lake  directly  upon 
the  saw-carriages.  The  size  of  some  of  the  rafts  may  be 
imagined  when  it  is  known  that  they  yielded  from  250,000 
to  300,000  feet  of  lumber. 

The  principal  vessel  for  this  purpose  at  the  time  I  first 
visited  Lake  Tahoe  in  1881  was  an  iron  tug,  called  the 
Meteor.  It  was  built  in  1876  at  Wilmington,  Delaware, 
by  Harlan,  Hollingsworth  &  Co.,  then  taken  apart,  shipped 
by  rail  to  Carson  City  and  hauled  by  teams  to  Lake  Tahoe. 
It  was  a  propeller,  eighty  feet  long  and  ten  feet  beam,  and 
cost  $18,000. 

The  first  store  erected  in  Glenbrook  was  placed  on  piles 
over  the  water.  This  was  built  in  1874,  hy  J.  A.  Rigby 
and  A.  Childers.  One  morning  the  latter  partner  disap- 
peared, and  it  was  surmised  that  he  had  fallen  into  the 
water  and  was  drowned.  New  partners  were  taken  into 
the  firm,  but  in  January,  1877,  the  store  was  burned,  and 
it  was  not  re-erected  on  its  original  site. 

When  the  lumber  interests  and  the  railway  were  removed 
Glenbrook  declined,  until  it  was  the  most  deserted  looking 
place  possible.     Then  the  sons  of  Mr.  Bliss,  one  of  whom 


204       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  —  LAKE  TAHOE 

was  born  there,  cleared  away  all  the  evidences  of  its  former 
lumbering  activities,  built  a  handsome  and  commodious  mod- 
ern hotel  on  the  most  scenic  point,  and  re-established  the  place 
as  a  choice  resort  on  the  Nevada  shore,  as  described  else- 
where. 

Incline.  It  will  be  a  source  of  interest,  even  to  many  who 
know  Lake  Tahoe  well,  that  there  used  to  be  a  town 
named  Incline  on  its  shores.  In  the  curve  of  Crystal  Bay, 
a  few  miles  from  where  the  scars  show  where  the  water 
escaped  from  Marlette  Lake  flume,  this  town  was  located 
in  1882.  It  was  the  source  of  supplies  for  the  lumbering 
interests  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Wood  and  Lumber  Com- 
pany, and  received  its  name  from  a  sixteen-hundred  feet 
incline  up  which  lumber  was  hauled.  The  incline  was 
operated  by  an  endless  cable,  somewhat  after  the  style  of 
Mount  Lowe,  in  Southern  California,  the  car  on  one  side 
going  up,  and  on  the  other  coming  down  one  trip,  and  vice 
versa  the  next.  The  lumber  thus  raised  was  thrown  into 
the  flume,  carried  therein  around  to  Lake  View,  on  the  line 
of  the  Virginia  and  Truckee  railway,  there  loaded  on  cars 
and  shipped  to  Carson  and  Virginia,  largely  for  use  in  the 
mines. 

When  the  logging  interests  were  active  the  place  had  quite 
a  population,  had  its  own  post-office  and  was  an  election 
precinct.  When  the  logging  interests  waned  the  town  de- 
clined, and  in  1898  the  post  office  was  discontinued.  Now 
nothing  remains  but  the  old  incline,  grown  up  with  weeds 
and  chaparral.  New  towns  are  springing  up  at  Al  Tahoe, 
Lakeside  and  Carnelian  Bay  which  will  soon  demand  a 
revision  of  this  chapter. 


LAKE  TAHOE  FROM  TAH'OE  TAVERN 


STEAMER  TAHOE  ROUNDING  RUBICON   POINT,  LAKE  TAHOE 


McKINNEY'S  AND  MOANA  VILLA,  WITH  KUIUCOX   PEAKS  I.\ 
THE  DISTANCE,  LAKE  TAIIOE 


STEAMER  LANDING,  McKINM    .    ~.    LAKE  TAHUE 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

BY   STEAMER   AROUND   LAKE   TAHOE 

THE  ride  around  Lake  Tahoe  is  one  of  varied  de- 
lights, as  the  visitor  sees  not  only  the  Lake  itself 
from  every  possible  angle,  but  gains  an  ever  shift- 
ing panorama  of  country,  and,  more  remarkable  than  all,  he 
rides  directly  over  that  wonderful  kaleidoscope  of  changing 
color  that  is  a  never-ceasing  surprise  and  enchantment. 

Tahoe  Tavern  is  the  starting  point  of  the  ride,  the  train 
conveying  the  passenger  directly  to  the  wharf  from  which 
he  takes  the  steamer.     Capt.  Pomin  is  in  control. 

Not  far  from  where  this,  the  most  beautiful  and  charm- 
nig  hotel  of  the  Lake  is  erected,  there  used  to  be  a  logging 
camp,  noted  as  the  place  from  which  the  first  ties  were  cut 
for  that  portion  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  lying  east 
of  the  summit  of  the  Sierras.  A  number  of  beautiful  private 
residences  line  the  Lake  for  some  distance,  the  area  having 
been  portioned  out  in  acre  and  half-acre  lots.  Chief  of 
these  are  the  summer  home  of  Professor  W.  T.  Reid,  for 
a  time  President  of  the  State  University  of  California,  and 
Idlewyld,  the  residence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frederick  Kohl, 
of  San  Francisco. 

One  of  the  oldest  villas  of  this  portion  of  the  Lake  used 
to  be  owned  by  Thomas  McConnell,  of  Gait,  and  it  was  his 
daughter,  Mary,  who  first  made  the  ascent  of  one  of  the 
peaks  now  known  as  Maggie's  Peaks,  as  a  marble  tablet 
placed  there  testifies. 

In  the  mountains  beyond  are  Ward's  Peak  (8665  feet)  to 
the  right,  and  Twin  Peak  (8924)  to  the  left,  from  the  first 

205 


2o6      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

of  which  heads  Ward's  Creek,  and  the  second  Blackwood 
Creek,  both  entering  the  Lake  two  miles  or  so  apart.  Just 
beyond  Twin  Peak  are  Barker's  Peak  (8000  feet),  and 
nearer  to  the  Lake,  Ellis  Peak  (8745  feet),  the  waters  from 
the  former  making  the  South  Fork  of  Blackwood  Creek. 
Ellis  Peak,  being  easily  reached  by  a  good  trail,  is  the  com- 
mon point  of  ascent  from  Homewood,  McKinney's,  Tahoe 
Tavern  and  other  resorts. 

Six  miles  out  from  the  Tavern,  the  first  stop  is  made  at 
Homewood,  one  of  the  newer  resorts. 

Three  and  one-half  to  four  miles  further  along  is  Mc- 
Kinney's, one  of  the  oldest,  best  known  and  well  established 
resorts  on  Lake  Tahoe.  It  was  founded  by  J.  W.  Mc- 
Kinney,  who  was  first  attracted  to  this  region  by  the  Squaw 
Valley  excitement.  (See  special  chapter.)  For  a  time  in 
1862-3  he  sold  lots  on  the  townsite  of  Knoxville,  then  when 
the  bottom  dropped  out  of  the  "  boom "  he  returned  to 
Georgetown,  engaged  in  mining,  but  returned  to  Tahoe  in 
or  about  1867,  located  on  160  acres  on  the  present  site  and 
in  1 89 1 -2,  after  having  erected  two  or  three  cottages,  em- 
barked fairly  and  fully  in  the  resort  business.  For  several 
years  his  chief  patronage  came  from  the  mining-camps,  etc., 
of  Nevada,  Gold  Hill,  Virginia  City,  Dayton,  Carson  City, 
Genoa,  etc.  They  came  by  stage  to  Glenbrook  and  thence 
across  the  Lake,  on  the  small  steamer  that  already  was  doing 
tourist  business  in  summer  and  hauling  logs  to  the  lumber 
mills  in  winter  and  spring.  Thus  this  resort  gained  its  early 
renown. 

The  bottom  of  the  Lake  may  be  seen  at  a  considerable 
depth  near  McKinney's,  and  looks  like  a  piece  of  mosaic 
work.  The  low  conical  peak,  back  of  McKinney's  is  about 
1400  feet  above  the  Lake  and  used  to  be  called  by  Mc- 
Kinney,  Napoleon's  Hat. 

The  next  stop  of  the  steamer  is  quite  close  to  McKin- 


BY  STEAMER  AROUND  LAKE  TAHOE       207 

ney's,  viz.,  Moana  Villa,  and  a  mile  or  so  further  on  at 
Pomin's,  the  former  an  old  established  resort,  and  the  latter 
an  entirely  new  one.  After  passing  Sugar  Pine  Point, 
Meek's  Bay  and  Grecian  Bay  are  entered.  These  two  shal- 
low indentations  along  the  shore  line  are  places  where  the 
color  effects  are  more  beautiful  than  anywhere  else  in  the 
Lake,  and  vie  with  the  attractions  of  the  shore  in  arresting 
the  keen  attention  of  the  traveler.  Meek's  Bay  is  three 
miles  long,  and,  immediately  ahead,  tower  the  five  peaks  of 
the  Rubicon  Range,  some  3000  feet  above  the  Lake.  Be- 
yond, a  thousand  feet  higher,  is  snow-crowned  Tallac, — 
the  mountain  —  as  the  Washoe  Indians  called  it,  the  domi- 
nating peak  of  the  southwest  end  of  the  Lake. 

Rubicon  Point  is  the  extension  of  the  Rubicon  Range 
and  it  falls  off  abruptly  into  the  deepest  portion  of  the  Lake. 
The  result  is  a  marvelous  shading  off  of  the  water  from  a 
rich  sapphire  to  a  deep  purple,  while  the  shore  on  either  side 
varies  from  a  bright  sparkling  blue  to  a  blue  so  deep  and 
rich  as  almost  to  be  sombre.  Well,  indeed,  might  Lake 
Tahoe  be  named  "  the  Lake  of  ineffable  blue."  Here  are 
shades  and  gradations  that  to  reproduce  in  textile  fabrics 
would  have  pricked  a  king's  ambition,  and  made  the  dyers 
of  the  Tyrian  purple  of  old  turn  green  with  envy.  Solomon 
in  his  wonderful  temple  never  saw  such  blue  as  God  here 
has  spread  out  as  His  free  gift  to  all  the  eyes,  past,  present 
and  to  come,  and  he  who  has  not  yet  seen  Tahoe  has  yet 
much  to  learn  of  color  glories,  mysteries,  melodies,  symphonies 
and  harmonies. 

Soon,  Emerald  Bay  is  entered.     This  is  regarded  by  many  . 
as  the  rich  jewel  of  Lake  Tahoe.     The  main  body  of  the  " 
Bay  is  of  the  deep  blue  our  eyes  have  already  become  ac- 
customed to,  but  the  shore-line  is  a  wonderful  combination 
of   jade   and    emerald,   that   dances   and   scintillates   as   the 
breeze  plays  with  the  surface  of  the  waters. 


2o8      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

A  landing  is  made  at  Emerald  Bay  Camp,  one  of  the 
most  popular  resorts  of  the  Lake,  and  while  at  the  landing 
the  curious  traveler  should  take  a  good  look  at  the  steep  bank 
of  the  opposite  shore.  This  is  a  lateral  moraine  of  two 
glaciers,  one  of  which  formed  Emerald  Bay,  as  is  explained 
in  Chapter  VHI,  and  the  other  formed  Cascade  Lake,  which 
nestles  on  the  other  side  of  the  ridge. 

At  the  head  of  Emerald  Bay,  also,  is  Eagle  Falls,  caused 
by  the  outflow  of  water  from  Eagle  Lake,  which  is  snugly 
ensconced  at  the  base  of  the  rugged  granite  cliffs  some  three 
miles  inland. 

Four  miles  beyond  Emerald  Bay  is  Tallac,  one  of  the  his- 
toric resorts  on  the  Lake. 

Tallac  was  originally  Yanks.  Yank  was  really  Ephraim 
Clement,  originally  a  Yankee  from  Maine,  a  stout,  hearty, 
bluff  man,  who  homesteaded  his  land,  added  to  it  until  he 
owned  about  a  thousand  acres,  and  finally  sold  out  to  E.  J. 
(Lucky)  Baldwin.  Baldwin  had  come  over  from  Virginia 
City  and  seeing  the  great  havoc  made  in  the  fine  timber,  of 
which  he  was  very  fond,  exclaimed  with  an  oath:  "  Some- 
one will  be  cutting  this  (the  timber  of  Yanks)  next,"  and 
then  and  there  he  began  to  bargain  for  the  place.  In  1878 
he  bought,  changed  the  name,  and  thenceforward  Tallac 
became  known.  Little  by  little,  as  Yank  had  done,  so  Bald- 
win bought  from  sheep-men,  squatters,  and  others  until  he 
had  quite  a  holding. 

The  hotel  was  built  and  in  1879  Sharp  Brothers  ran  it. 
In  1880  Capt.  Gordon  was  manager  for  a  year,  and  in 
1881  Baldwin  gave  a  lease  to  Messrs.  Lawrence  &  Corn- 
stock  who  held  it  until   19 14. 

Baldwin  was  a  great  lover  of  trees,  and  when  the  present 
hotel  and  cottages  were  built,  not  a  single  tree  was  cut  with- 
out his  express  permission.  Yet  he  had  no  foolish  sentiment 
about  the  matter  as  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  all  the  buildings 


BY  STEAMER  AROUND  LAKE  TAHOE      209 

were  constructed  from  local  lumber  produced  in  his  own  saw- 
mill, except  the  redwood  used  for  finishing.  The  hotel  as  it 
now  stands  was  completed  in   1900. 

Gulls,  pelicans  and  mud-hens  can  generally  be  seen  in 
large  numbers  around  the  piers  at  Tallac,  and  the  fleet  of 
fishing  boats,  each  with  its  one  or  more  eager  anglers,  is  one 
of  the  sights. 

The  steamer  stops  here  long  enough  to  allow  a  few  minutes 
ashore,  and  the  visitors  ramble  over  to  the  hotel,  chat  or 
chaffer  with  the  Washoe  Indian  squaws  who  have  their 
baskets  for  sale,  or  enjoy  the  grassy  and  shaded  grounds. 

From  the  wharf  at  Tallac  visitors  for  Glen  Alpine,  Fallen 
Leaf  Lodge,  and  Cathedral  Park  take  their  respective  stages. 
These  three  resorts  are  within  a  few  miles  and  afiford  ad- 
ditional opportunities  for  lovers  of  the  region  to  add  to 
their  knowledge  of  its  scenic,  botanic,  arboreal  and  geologic 
features.  Indeed  such  glacial  experts  as  Joseph  LeConte, 
John  Muir,  and  David  Starr  Jordan  have  united  in  declar- 
ing that  the  region  around  Glen  Alpine  gives  a  better  op- 
portunity for  the  study  of  comparatively  recent  glacial  phe- 
nomena than  any  other  known  area. 

Adjoining  Tallac  on  the  east  is  the  private  residence  of 
W.  S.  Tevis,  of  San  Francisco.  His  beautiful  yacht,  the 
Consuelo,  may  generally  be  seen  anchored  here,  when  not  in 
actual  service. 

Half  a  mile  from  Tallac  is  The  Grove,  close  to  the  Upper 
Truckee  River,  the  main  feeder  of  Lake  Tahoe,  and  four 
miles  further  is  Al-Tahoe,  a  new  and  well-equipped  hotel, 
standing  on  a  bluff  commanding  an  expansive  view  of  the 
Lake.  It  practically  occupies  the  site  of  an  old  resort  well- 
known  as  "  Rowland's."  It  is  near  to  Freel's  Peak  (10,900 
feet),  which  in  olden  days  was  known  as  Sand  Mountain,  on 
account  of  its  summit  being  composed  of  sand. 

A  mile  and  a  half  further  along  is  Bijou,  a  pleasant  and 


210      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

comfortable  stopping  place,  while  three  miles  further  a 
picturesque  rustic  pavilion  on  the  end  of  the  pier  denotes 
Lakeside  Park,  a  well-known  and  long-famous  resort. 
Forty-five  years  ago,  or  more,  Capt.  W.  W.  Latham  built 
the  famous  State  Line  House  at  this  point,  and  twenty  years 
ago  it  came  into  the  hands  of  its  present  owners. 

This  is  the  most  easterly  of  all  the  resorts  and  settlements 
at  the  south  end  of  Lake  Tahoe.  It  is  in  California,  in 
El  Dorado  County,  though  its  post-office  is  Stateline,  the 
dividing  line  between  California  and  Nevada.  The  Park 
is  over  2000  acres  in  extent  and  has  already  become  the 
nucleus  for  a  choice  summer  residence  section. 

Leaving  Lakeside  Park  the  steamer  now  turns  northward 
and  follows  the  eastern  or  Nevada  shore,  until  Cave  Rock 
is  passed  and  Glenbrook  is  reached.  This  is  the  only  resort 
on  that  side  of  Lake  Tahoe.  Once  the  scene  of  an  active, 
busy,  lumber  town,  where  great  mills  daily  turned  out  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  feetl  of  timber  for  th6  mines  of  Vir- 
ginia City  and  the  building  up  of  the  great  historic  mining- 
camps  of  Nevada,  the  magic  of  change  and  of  modern  im- 
provements has  swept  away-- every  sign  of  these  earlier  activi- 
ties and  left  Glenbrook  a  quiet,  delightful,  restful  resort, 
nestling  in  its  own  wide  and  expansive  meadows  at  the  foot 
of  towering  mountains  that  give  a  rich  and  contrasting 
background  for  the  perennial  beauty  of  the  Lake.  Practi- 
cally all  that  remains  to  remind  one  of  the  old  days  are  the 
remnants  of  the  logging  piers  and  cribs,  the  school-house,  the 
quiet  "  City  of  Those  who  are  Gone,"  and  further  up  the 
hills,  the  old  railroad  grade  on  which  the  logs  were  carried 
to  the  mill  and  the  lumber  taken  through  the  tunnel,  which 
still  remains,  to  the  flume  by  which  it  was  further  conveyed 
to  the  railroad  at  Carson  City. 

Immediately  to  the  right  of  Glenbrook,  las  the  steamer 


BY  STEAMER  AROUND  LAKE  TAHOE       211 

heads  for  the  wharf,  can  be  seen  the  celebrated  Shakspere 
Rock.     John  Vance  Cheney,  the  poet,  thus  describes  it: 

No  sooner  had  the  steamer  been  made  fast  than  a  ledge  of 
rocks  was  pointed  out  to  us,  rising  precipitously  some  dis- 
tance from  the  pier.  "  Can't  you  see  it?"  again  and  again 
asked  our  guide,  renewing  his  endeavor  to  dispel  our  dis- 
tressing stupidity.  At  length  "  it  "  appeared  to  us,  and  we 
stood  mute  with  astonishment.  There,  on  the  front  of  a 
bold  cliff,  graven  with  all  the  care  of  the  best  copies  with 
which  we  are  familiar,  looked  down  upon  us  the  face  of 
Shakspere!  As  if  in  remembrance  of  her  favorite  son,  here 
in  this  far  wild  region,  nature  had  caused  his  features,  cut 
in  everlasting  rock,  to  be  hung  on  high,  a  fitting  symbol  of 
his  intellectual  sovereignty  over  the  world.  The  likeness 
needs  no  aid  from  the  imagination:  it  is  life-like,  recognized 
instantly  by  the  most  careless  observer,  and,  let  it  be  added, 
never  forgotten.  The  beard  is  a  trifle  longer  than  we  are 
accustomed  to  see  it,  but  this  deviation  does  not  detract  from 
the  majesty  of  expression  becoming  the  illustrious  original. 
The  spacious  forehead,  the  nose,  even  the  eyes,  all  are  ad- 
mirably represented.  A  more  astounding  surprise  it  has  not 
been  the  writer's  fortune  to  experience.  The  portrait  looks 
as  if  it  were  made  by  moss  growing  upon  the  smooth  flat 
surface  of  a  huge  rock;  but  we  were  Informed  that  the  face 
is  all  of  stone,  and  has  undergone  no  perceptible  change 
since  its  discovery  about  five  years  since.  [This  was  writ- 
ten in  1882.]  A  lady  tourist  from  Massachusetts  has,  it  is 
believed,  the  honor  of  first  pointing  it  out.  Nature  cannot 
forget  her  Shakspere.  So  we  all  mused,  and,  musing,  would 
have  forgotten  our  dinners,  had  we  not  been  summoned  in- 
side the  hotel.  The  repast  was  not  peculiarly  relishable; 
consequently,  we  had  all  the  more  opportunity  to  feed  spirit- 
ually upon  the  masterpiece  on  the  cliff, —  the  rock-portrait 
of  Avon's,  of  England's,  of  the  World's  immortal  bard. 

As  the  steamer  leaves  Glenbrook  one  may  gain  clear  and 
distinct  views  of  the  four  prominent  peaks  of  the  Nevada  side. 
Above  Lakeside,  at  the  southeast  end,  is  Monument  Peak, 


212      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

then,  about  midway  between  Lakeside  and  Glenbrook  is  a 
sharp-pointed  bare  mass  of  rock  known  as  Genoa  Peak.  Im- 
mediately behind  Glenbrook  is  Dubliss  Mountain  (8729 
feet),  so  named  after  Duane  Bliss,  father  and  son,  both  of 
whom  have  done  so  much  to  make  Tahoe  known  to  the 
world.  Marlette  Peak  is  to  the  northeast,  8864  feet,  with 
Snow  Valley  Peak,  9214  feet,  a  little  to  the  South.  These 
both  overshadow  Marlette  Lake,  a  full  description  of  which 
is  given  elsewhere.  All  these  peaks  afford  excellent  views  of 
Lake  Tahoe  on  the  one  side  and  of  the  valleys  and  mountains 
of  western  Nevada  on  the  other. 

The  steamer  now  continues  along  the  Nevada  shore,  past 
the  scars  caused  by  the  breaking  of  the  Marlette  Lake  flume, 
by  Crystal  Bay  and  the  site  of  the  old  town  of  Incline, 
around  State  Line  Point  to  Brockway. 

This  resort  has  been  long  and  favorably  known  for  its 
famous  hot  mineral  springs.  The  hot  water  is  piped  to  all 
rooms  and  private  baths  of  the  hotels  and  cottages,  and  is  a 
great  source  of  pleasure  as  well  as  health-giving  comfort  to 
the  guests. 

We  are  now  on  the  home-stretch,  and  soon  after  leaving 
Brockway  (i^  miles  away)  and  forty-five  minutes  (eight 
miles)  from  Tahoe  Tavern,  we  reach  Tahoe  Vista.  Here 
one  is  afforded  a  perfect  view  of  the  Lake  and  its  snow- 
capped ranges  east  and  south. 

Crossing  Agate  and  Carnelian  Bays  the  steamer's  last  stop 
is  at  Carnelian  Bay.  Here  there  is  great  building  activity 
going  on  and  many  neat  and  commodious  cottages  and 
bungalows  are  being  erected. 

Observatory  Point  is  the  last  object  passed  before  the 
Tavern  is  again  reached.  This  name  was  given  because  of 
the  fact  that  it  was  once  the  chosen  site,  by  James  Lick,  for 
the  observatory  he  contemplated  building.  This  plan,  how- 
ever, was  never  carried  out,  as  it  was  shown  to  the  philan- 


SXOWltALLIXG  IN  JUNE,  JULY  AND  AUGUST,  NEAR  THE 

SUMMIT  OF  "THE  CRAGS,"   DEER  PARK  SPRINGS, 

LAKE  TAHOE 


FISHING  IN   GRASS  LAKE,  Ni:  \R  <,LI..\    ALl'INE  SPRIX(,.^ 


fc-.''      •        ,    •-  "ITB---. 


lorr.ici )X  I'oixr,  i.aki-:  iaiiof. 


HROCKWAVs   lUn    S1'K1.\(.S   IKriKI.,   l.AKK  TAHOE 


BY  STEAMER  AROUND  LAKE  TAHOE       213 

thropist  that  the  cold  weather  of  winter  would  work  ex- 
ceeding hardship  upon  the  astronomers  without  any  com- 
pensating advantages.  The  result  was  the  Observatory  was 
finally  established  on  Mt.  Hamilton,  and  it  is  now  a  part  of 
the  great  California  University  system. 

Thus  the  complete  circuit  of  Lake  Tahoe  is  made  daily 
in  summer  by  the  steamer,  and  no  matter  how  often  the  trip 
is  taken  it  never  palls  upon  the  intelligent  and  careful  ob- 
server. New  glories  and  wonders  are  constantly  springing 
forth  as  pleasant  surprises  and  one  soon  learns  to  realize  that 
here  Nature  indeed  has  been  most  prodigal  in  her  scenic 
gifts  to  mankind. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

DEER   PARK    SPRINGS 

WHILE  in  one  sense  all  the  resorts  of  the  Tahoe 
region  are  mountain  resorts,  a  difference  should 
be  noted  between  those  that  are  located  directly 
on  the  shores  of  Lake  Tahoe,  or  some  lesser  lake,  and  those 
that  are  away  from  immediate  proximity  to  a  lake.  The  lat- 
ter type  is  more  correctly  designated  mountain  resorts,  and  of 
these  are  three  in  the  Tahoe  region,  viz.,  Deer  Park  Springs, 
Rubicon  Springs  and  Glen  Alpine.  All  these  resorts  were 
discovered  by  following  the  trails  of  animals  which  were  visit- 
ing them  for  "  salt  licks  "  that  existed  in  connection  with 
their  mineral  waters  as  related  in  the  chapter  on  Glen  Alpine. 
Deer  Park  is  a  private  estate  of  approximately  469  acres, 
in  two  sections,  one  the  Mineral  Springs  Section,  consisting 
of  nearly  309  acres,  and  on  which  the  celebrated  springs  — 
two  of  soda,  one  of  sulphur,  and  one  of  iron  —  are  located, 
and  the  other,  the  Five  Lakes  Section,  of  1 60  acres.  The 
former  begins  a  mile  from  the  Truckee  River,  up  Bear  Creek 
Canyon.  This  was  originally  taken  up  from  the  Govern- 
ment as  timber  claims,  but  the  timber  has  never  been  cut,  and 
the  great  pines,  firs  and  junipers  remain  as  the  original 
settlers  found  them.  The  Five  Lakes  section  is  a  fascinating 
and  attractive  location  two  miles  away,  over  the  first  divide 
of  the  mountains,  and  therefore  looo  feet  higher  than  the 
Inn,  where  five  glacial  lakes  nestle  in  their  granite  basin. 
Four  of  these,  and  a  large  part  of  the  fifth,  are  included  in 
the  estate,  while  all  surrounding  is  government  land  of  the 

214 


DEER  PARK  SPRINGS  215 

Tahoe  National  Forest.  If  a  dam  were  built  to  restrain 
the  flow  of  water  into  Five  Lake  Creek,  it  would  need  only 
to  be  ten  feet  high  to  convert  the  five  lakes  into  one,  so  near 
are  they  to  the  same  level. 

As  it  is  the  flow  from  these  lakes  forms  Five  Lakes  Creek, 
which  empties  into  the  Rubicon  and  thence  into  the  South 
Fork  of  the  American. 

Five  Lakes  afford  excellent  fishing  and  a  log-cabin,  three 
boats  and  fishing  tackle  are  kept  here  throughout  the  season 
for  the  pleasure  of  guests.  Those  who  disdain  the  ordinary 
accommodations  of  a  hotel  can  here  camp  out,  rough  it,  and 
make  it  their  headquarters  while  climbing  the  adjoining 
peaks  or  exploring  the  ravines  and  canyons  at  the  head  of 
the  American  River. 

In  19 14  a  student  from  Stanford  University  was  host  at 
the  Five  Lakes  log-cabin.  He  cooked  for  those  who  desired 
it,  helped  gather  fir  boughs  for  camp  beds,  prepared  fishing- 
tackle  for  women  anglers,  rowed  them  to  and  fro  over  the 
lakes,  and  accompanied  parties  to  the  nearby  summits. 
There  are  full  accommodations  at  the  cabin  for  seven  per- 
sons, and  the  rule  of  the  camp  is  that  guests  stay  only  one 
night,  moving  on  to  make  room  for  the  next  comer,  unless 
arrangements  for  a  longer  stay  are  made  beforehand.  Thus 
all  the  guests  at  Deer  Park  Inn  may  enjoy  this  novel  ex- 
perience if  they  so  desire. 

In  the  region  of  Five  Lakes,  Basque  and  other  foreign 
shepherds  may  be  found  tending  their  flocks,  and  prospec- 
tors, with  queer  little  pack-burros,  who  climb  the  mountains 
seeking  the  elusive  gold,  as  they  did  in  the  days  of  '49. 

It  was  from  Deer  Park  that  the  trail  into  the  famous 
Hell  Hole  was  recut  by  Miss  Katherine  Chandler,  owner 
of  the  Inn  and  estate,  in  1908,  after  having  been  lost  for 
many  years.  Arrangements  for  this  trip,  and  other  famous 
hunting  and  fishing  trips  may  be  made  at  the  Inn  and  many 


2i6      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

people  who  have  gone  over  the  mountains  to  the  Yosemite 
have  outfitted  and  secured  their  guide  here. 

One  of  the  finest  trail  trips  of  the  Tahoe  region  is  that 
afforded  over  the  trail,  back  of  Deer  Park  Inn,  to  the  rugged 
pile  known  as  The  Crags,  over  Inspirational  Ridge  to 
Ward's  Peak.  In  the  early  part  of  the  season  great  snow 
banks  are  encountered,  and  when  the  flowers  begin  to  bloom 
there  are  great  fields  covered  with  Sierran  primroses,  with 
many  patches  of  white  heather  and  beautiful  cyclamens. 
This  is  but  one  of  many  fine  trail  trips  that  may  be  made. 

Deer  Park  Inn  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  established 
resorts  of  the  Tahoe  region.  The  house  that  I  occupied  on 
my  short  visit  was  a  solid  log  cabin,  full  of  romantic  inter- 
est, for  it  was  quaint,  old-fashioned  and  appropriate  to  the 
surroundings.  The  key-note  of  the  place  is  comfort.  Un- 
der its  present  management  a  large  number  of  wild  New 
England  flowers  have  been  planted  to  add  their  beauty  to 
that  of  the  native  California  flower,  and  each  year,  about 
the  third  week  In  July,  the  guests  wander  over  the  sun- 
kissed  slopes,  climb  the  snowy  heights  and  ramble  through 
the  shady  woods  gathering  Sierran  flowers  of  every  hue,  form 
and  variety  for  an  annual  flower  show.  This  is  one  of 
the  distinctive  features  of  the  life  at  Deer  Park  Inn. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  here  to  notice  that,  when  Miss 
Parsons,  chief  author  of  Flowers  of  California,  was  preparing 
that  volume,  she  found  such  a  wealth  of  mountain  flora  in 
the  Deer  Park  region  that  she  spent  about  as  many  weeks  as 
she  had  planned  for  days.  Other  botanists  have  found 
it  equally  productive. 

To  those  who  come  early  in  the  season  tobogannlng  and 
snow  shoeing  are  not  unusual  experiences.  The  shady  sides 
of  the  mountains  offer  these  winter  sports  as  late  as  June 
and  early  July,  and  many  Californians  who  have  never  en- 


DEER  PARK  SPRINGS  217 

joyed  the  frolic  of  snow-balling  come  here  to  gain  their  first 
experience  in  this  common  eastern  enjoyment. 

Elsewhere  I  have  referred  to  the  many  evidences  of  glacial 
action  found  about  a  mile  above  Deer  Park  Inn.  Still  fur- 
ther up  the  canyon,  on  the  trail  going  to  Five  Lakes,  are 
interesting  deposits  of  volcanic  rock  —  andeside  —  so  that 
these  two  geological  phenomena  may  be  studied  close  at 
hand. 

Having  its  own  rich  meadows  on  Bear  Creek,  the  Deer 
Park  Spring  tables  are  always  supplied  with  good  milk  and 
cream  from  its  own  dairies,  while  fresh  fruit  and  vegetables 
are  supplied  daily.  Fish  and  game  in  season  are  frequent, 
and  the  table  being  under  the  direct  and  personal  super- 
vision of  the  management  has  gained  an  enviable  reputation. 

Living  water  flows  in  marvelous  abundance  through  Deer 
Park  all  throughout  the  year.  Springs  and  melting  snow 
send  four  different  streams,  tributary  to  Bear  Creek,  cours- 
ing across  the  property.  The  domestic  water  supply  of  the 
Inn  is  gained  from  springs  on  the  mountain  side,  800  feet 
above  the  Inn,  and  it  is  piped  all  over  the  place  and  to  every 
cottage. 

There  has  been  some  talk,  recently,  of  converting  Deer 
Park  into  a  private  park.  There  is  no  better  location  for 
such  a  purpose  in  the  whole  Tahoe  region.  Situated  as 
it  is  in  the  heart  of  a  canyon  it  is  readily  isolated  and  thus 
kept  entirely  secluded  and  free  from  intrusion.  While 
such  a  procedure  would  be  a  great  advantage  to  any  individ- 
ual or  club  who  might  purchase  the  estate,  it  would  be  a 
decided  loss  to  the  general  public  who  for  so  many  years 
have  enjoyed  the  charms  and  delights  of  this  earliest  of 
Sierran  mountain  resorts. 


CHAPTER  XX 

RUBICON    SPRINGS 

ONE  of  the  oldest  and  most  famous  resorts  of  the 
High  Sierras  is  Rubicon  Springs.  It  is  nine  miles 
from  Lake  Tahoe,  at  McKinney's,  over  a  mountain 
road  built  many  years  ago,  engineered  so  as  to  afford  marvel- 
ously  entrancing  glimpses  of  the  Lake  and  of  the  mountain 
scenery  on  either  hand.  Here  are  primeval  forest,  flower- 
strew^n  meadows  of  emerald,  crystal  streams  and  placid- 
faced  glacial  lakes  in  which  snow-clad  mountain  summits 
are  mirrored  in  quiet  glory.  The  Rubicon  River  is  one  of 
the  feeders  of  the  American  River,  and  the  springs  are  lo- 
cated not  far  from  its  head  waters. 

The  Rubicon  Springs  were  originally  discovered  and  lo- 
cated upon  by  the  Hunsaker  brothers,  two  genuine  explorers 
and  adventurers  whose  names  deserve  to  be  preserved  in 
connection  with  the  Tahoe  region.  They  were  originally 
from  the  Hoosier  state,  coming  to  California  in  1849,  across 
the  plains,  by  Fort  Hall,  the  sink  of  the  Humboldt,  Ragtown, 
and  by  Carson  Canyon  to  old  Hangtown  (now  Placerville). 
They  mined  for  several  years.  Then  came  the  Comstock 
excitement.  They  joined  the  exodus  of  miners  for  the 
Nevada  mountains  and  were  among  the  earliest  to  help  to 
construct  the  Georgetown  trail.  Thus  it  was  they  discovered 
Rubicon.  In  1869  they  located  upon  1 60  acres,  built  a 
log-house  and  established  a  stopping  station  which  they  called 
Hunsaker  Springs.  In  the  winter  they  rested  or  returned 
to   Georgetown,   making  occasional  trapping  trips,   hunting 

218 


RUBICON  SPRINGS  219 

bear  and  deer,  and  the  meat  of  which  they  sold.  In  those  days 
deer  used  to  winter  in  large  numbers  almost  as  far  down  as 
Georgetown  (some  fifteen  miles  or  so),  so  that  hunting  them 
for  market  was  a  profitable  undertaking  in  the  hands  of 
experts. 

They  and  John  McKinney,  the  founder  of  McKinney's, 
were  great  friends,  having  worked  together  in  the  George- 
town mines.  They  soon  made  their  places  famous.  Their 
mining  friends  came  over  from  Virginia  City,  Gold  Hill, 
Carson,  etc.,  by  way  of  Glenbrook,  where  they  were  ferried 
across  Lake  Tahoe  by  the  old  side-wheel  steamer,  Governor 
Stanford,  to  McKinney's.  Then  by  pack  trail  over  to  Hun- 
sakers. 

For  many  years  they  used  to  cut  a  great  deal  of  hay  from 
the  nearby  meadows.  A  natural  timothy  grows,  sometimes 
fully  four  feet  high.  A  year's  yield  would  often  total  fully 
thirty  tons,  for  which  the  highest  price  was  paid  at  the  mines. 

There  was  another  spring,  beside  Hunsakers',  about  a  mile 
higher  up,  owned  by  a  friend  of  the  Hunsakers,  named 
Potter.  In  time  he  sold  this  spring  to  a  Mrs.  Clark,  who 
finally  sold  it  back  to  him,  when  it  was  bought  by  Mr.  R. 
Colwell,  of  Moana  Villa.  When  the  Hunsakers  grew  too 
old  to  run  their  place  they  sold  it  to  a  man  named  Abbott, 
who,  in  due  time  wished  to  sell  out.  But,  in  the  meantime 
the  railroad  had  surveyed  their  land,  granted  by  Congress, 
and  found  that  the  springs  and  part  of  the  hotel  building 
were  on  their  land,  so  that  while  Abbott  sold  all  his  holdings 
to  Mr.  Colwell,  he  could  not  sell  the  main  objects  of  the 
purchaser's  desire.  An  amicable  arrangement,  however,  was 
made  between  all  the  parties  at  interest. 

Mr.  Colwell  is  now  the  owner  of  all  the  property. 

For  countless  centuries  the  Indians  of  both  west  and  east 
of  Tahoe  were  used  to  congregate  in  the  Rubicon  country. 
They  came  to  drink  the  medicinal  waters,  fish,  catch  deer 


220      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

and  game  birds,  and  also  gather  acorns  and  pine  nuts.  How 
well  I  remember  my  own  visit  to  the  Springs  in  the  fall 
of  1913.  Watson  and  I  had  had  three  delightful  days  on 
the  trail  and  in  Hell  Hole,  and  had  come,  without  a  trail, 
from  Little  Hell  Hole  up  to  Rubicon.  The  quaking  aspens 
were  dropping  their  leaves,  the  tang  of  coming  winter  was 
in  the  air,  mornings  and  evenings,  yet  the  middle  of  the  day 
was  so  warm  that  we  drank  deeply  of  the  waters  of  the  nat- 
urally carbonated  springs.  No,  this  statement  is  scarcely 
one  of  fact.  It  was  warm,  but  had  it  been  cold,  we,  or,  at 
least,  I  should  have  drank  heartily  of  the  waters  because  I 
liked  them.  They  are  really  delicious,  and  thousands  have 
testified  to  their  healthfulness. 

We  saw  the  station  of  the  water  company,  where  a  man 
remains  through  the  year  to  register  the  river's  flow  and  the 
snowfall.  Then  we  passed  a  large  lily  lake  to  the  left, — 
a  once  bold  glacial  lake  now  rapidly  Hearing  the  filled-up 
stage  ere  it  becomes  a  mountain  meadow  —  and  were  fairly 
on  the  Georgetown  grade,  the  sixty  mile  road  that  reaches 
from  McKinney's  to  Georgetown.  It  is  a  stern  road,  that 
would  make  the  "  rocky  road  to  Dublin  "  look  like  a  "  flow- 
ery bed  of  ease,"  though  we  followed  it  only  a  mile  and  a 
half  to  leave  it  for  the  steep  trail  that  reaches  Rock  Bound 
Lake.  This  is  one  of  the  larger  of  the  small  glacial  lakes 
of  the  Tahoe  Region,  and  is  near  enough  to  Rubicon  Springs 
to  be  reached  easily  on  foot. 

From  a  knoll  close  by  one  gains  an  excellent  panorama 
of  Dick's,  Jack's  and  Ralston's  Peaks.  Tallac  and  Pyramid 
are  not  in  sight.  The  fishing  here  is  excellent,  the  water 
deep  and  cold  and  the  lake  large  enough  to  give  one  all  the 
exercise  he  needs  in  rowing. 

On  the  summit  of  the  Georgetown  road  one  looks  down 
upon  the  nearby  placid  bosom  of  Buck  Island  Lake.  It  re- 
ceived this  name  from  Hunsaker,     The  lake  is  very  irregu- 


RUBICON  SPRINGS  221 

lar  In  shape,  about  a  third  of  a  mile  long,  and  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  wide  in  its  widest  part.  Near  one  end  is  a  small  island. 
Hunsaker  found  the  deer  swam  over  to  this  island  to  rest 
and  sleep  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  hence  the  name. 

The  Little  Rubicon  river  flows  into  Buck  Island  Lake  and 
out  again,  and  about  two  miles  below  Rubicon  Springs  the 
Georgetown  road  crosses  the  river  at  the  foot  of  the  lake. 

With  these  two  lakes,  and  others  not  far  away,  fine  hunt- 
ing and  fishing,  with  several  mountains  nearby  for  climb- 
ing, the  hotsprings,  a  fine  table  and  good  horses  to  ride  it 
can  well  be  understood  that  Rubicon  Springs  makes  a  de- 
lightful summer  stopping-place.  One  great  advantage  that 
it  possesses,  under  its  present  proprietorship  is  that  guests 
may  alternate  between  Moana  Villa  and  the  Springs  and  thus 
spend  part  of  their  time  on  the  Lake  and  the  other  part  in  the 
heart  of  the  mountains.  The  Colwells  are  hearty  and  home- 
like hosts,  and  are  devoted  to  giving  their  many  guests  the 
greatest  possible  enjoyment,  pleasure  and  health  that  a  sum- 
mer's vacation  can  contain. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

EMERALD    BAY   AND   CAMP 

SITUATED  near  the  southwest  corner  of  Lake  Tahoe 
is  Emerald  Bay,  by  many  thousands  regarded  as  the 
choicest  portion  of  Lake  Tahoe.  Surrounded  by  so 
many  wonderful  scenes,  as  one  is  at  Tahoe,  it  is  difficult  to 
decide  which  possesses  surpassing  power,  but  few  there  are 
who  see  Emerald  Bay  without  at  once  succumbing  to  its 
allurement.  Its  geological  history  has  already  been  given  in 
Chapter  VIII,  in  which  it  is  clearly  shown  by  Dr.  Joseph  Le 
Conte  that  it  was  once  a  glacial  lake,  and  that  the  entrance  to 
the  main  lake  used  to  be  the  terminal  moraine  that  separated 
the  two  bodies  of  water.  As  a  natural  consequence,  there- 
fore, visitors  may  expect  to  find  evidences  of  glacial  action 
on  every  hand.  They  are  not  disappointed.  The  walls  of 
the  Bay,  on  both  north  and  south,  are  composed  of  glacial 
detritus,  that  of  the  south  being  a  pure  moraine,  separating 
the  once  glacial  lake  of  Emerald  Bay  from  Cascade  Lake. 

Emerald  Bay  is  about  three  miles  in  length,  with  a  south- 
westerly trend,  and  half  a  mile  wide.  The  entrance  is 
perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide  and  is  formed  by  a  tri- 
angular spit  of  sand,  on  which  grows  a  lonp  pine,  on  the  one 
side,  and  a  green  chaparral-clad  slope,  known  as  Eagle 
Point,  on  the  other.  The  Bay  opens  and  widens  a  little 
immediately  the  entrance  is  joined.  The  mountains  at  the 
head  of  the  Bay  form  a  majestic  background.  To  the  south- 
west (the  left)  is  Mount  Tallac,  with  a  rugged,  jagged  and 
irregular  ridge  leading  to  the  west,  disappearing  behind  two 

222 


EMERALD  BAY  AND  CAMP  223 

tree-clad  sister  peaks,  which  dominate  the  southern  side  of 
the  Bay's  head.  These  are  known  as  Maggie's  Peaks  (8540 
and  8725  feet  respectively,  that  to  the  south  being  the  higher) , 
though  originally  their  name,  like  that  of  so  many  rounded, 
shapely,  twin  peaks  in  the  western  world  gained  by  the 
white  man  from  the  Indian,  signified  the  well-developed 
breasts  of  the  healthy  and  vigorous  maiden.  Emerging  from 
behind  these  the  further  ridge  again  appears  with  a  nearer 
and  smoother  ridge,  leading  up  to  a  broken  and  jagged 
crest  that  pierces  the  sky  in  rugged  outline.  A  deep  gorge 
is  clearly  suggested  in  front  of  this  ridge,  in  which  Eagle 
Lake  nestles,  and  the  granite  mass  which  forms  the  eastern 
wall  of  this  gorge  towers  up,  apparently  higher  than  the 
nearer  of  Maggie's  peaks,  and  is  known  as  Phipps'  Peak 
(9000  feet).  This  is  followed  by  still  another  peak,  nearer 
and  equally  as  high,  leading  the  eye  further  to  the  north, 
where  its  pine-clad  ridge  merges  into  more  ridges  striking 
northward. 

Between  Maggie's  and  Phipps'  Peaks  the  rocky  masses  are 
broken  down  into  irregular,  half  rolling,  half  rugged  foot- 
hills, where  pines,  firs,  tamaracks  and  cedars  send  their 
pointed  spires  upwards  from  varying  levels.  In  the  morn- 
ing hours,  or  in  the  afternoon  up  to  sunset,  when  the  shadows 
reveal  the  differing  layers,  rows,  and  levels  of  the  trees, 
they  stand  out  with  remarkable  distinctness,  each  tree  pos- 
sessing its  own  perfectly  discernible  individuality,  yet  each 
contributing  to  the  richness  of  the  clothing  of  the  mountain- 
side, as  a  whole. 

Down  across  the  lower  portion  of  Maggie's  Peaks,  100 
to  200  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Bay,  the  new  automobile 
road  has  ruled  its  sloping  line  down  to  the  cut,  where  a  sturdy 
rustic  bridge  takes  it  over  the  stream  which  conveys  the 
surplus  waters  from  Eagle  Lake  to  the  Bay.  On  the  other 
side  it  is  lost  in  the  rolling  foothills  and  the  tree-lined  lower 


V 


224      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

slopes  of  Cathedral  Peak  from  whence  it  winds  and  hugs  the 
Lake  shore,  over  Rubicon  Point  to  Tahoe  Tavern. 

But  Emerald  Bay  has  other  romantic  attractions  besides 
its  scenery.  In  the  early  'sixties  Ben  Holladay,  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  great  Overland  Stage  system  that  reached 
from  the  Pacific  Coast  to  the  Missouri  River,  built  a  pre- 
tentious house  at  the  head  of  the  Bay.  Naturally  it  was 
occupied  by  the  family  only  part  of  the  time,  and  in  1879,  a 
tramp,  finding  it  unoccupied,  took  up  his  lodgings  therein, 
and,  as  a  mark  of  his  royal  departure,  the  structure  burned 
down  the  next  morning.  The  site  was  then  bought  by  the 
well-known  capitalist,  Lux,  of  the  great  cattle  firm  of  Miller 
&  Lux,  and  is  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Armstrong. 

As  the  steamer  slowly  and  easily  glides  down  the  Bay,  it 
circles  around  a  rocky  islet,  on  which  a  number  of  trees 
find  shelter.  This  island  was  inhabited  at  one  time  by  an 
eccentric  Englishman,  known  as  Captain  Dick,  who,  after 
having  completed  a  cottage  to  live  in,  carried  out  the  serious 
idea  of  erecting  a  morgue,  or  a  mausoleum,  as  a  means  of 
final  earthly  deposit  upon  dissolution.  This  queer-looking 
dog-house  might  have  become  a  sarcophagus  had  it  not  been 
for  one  thing,  viz..  Captain  Dick,  one  dark  and  stormy 
night,  having  visited  one  of  the  neighboring  resorts  where 
he  had  pressed  his  cordial  intemperately,  determined  to  re- 
turn to  his  solitary  home.  In  vain  the  danger  was  urged 
upon  him.  With  characteristic  obstinacy,  enforced  by  the 
false  courage  and  destruction  of  his  ordinarily  keen  percep- 
tion by  the  damnable  liquor  that  had  "  stolen  away  his 
brains,"  he  refused  to  listen,  pushed  his  sail-boat  from  the 
wharf  and  was  never  seen  again.  His  overturned  boat  was 
afterwards  found,  blown  ashore. 


THE   MARBLE  TAj;LI-:r   oX   OM-:   ()!•    MAC.GIE'S    l'HAK>.    l;i  AUIXC 

THE  INSCRIPTION;  "FLEETWOOD  PEAK,  ASCENDED 

P.V  MISS  MARY  McCONNELL,  SEPT.    12,   1869." 


.4r:._-^ 


THE  ISLAND  IN  EMERALD  BAY,  LAKE  TAHOE 


"WHlSl'KRINCi   PINKS."   AL  TAIIOE.   ON   LAKK  TAHOK 


K.    S.    I'.KOWN    (OITACK,   AL  'lAIIOK,   ON    1.AKI-:   TAHoK 


EMERALD  BAY  AND  CAMP  225 

EMERALD   BAY   CAMP 

Emerald  Bay  is  made  accessible  to  regular  summer  guests 
by  Emerald  Bay  Camp,  one  of  the  choice  and  highly  com- 
mendable resorts  of  the  Tahoe  region.  The  Camp  is  located 
snugly  among  the  pines  of  the  north  side  of  the  Bay,  and 
consists  of  the  usual  hotel,  with  nearby  cottages  and  tents. 

Less  than  five  minutes'  walk  connects  it  with  the  pictur- 
esque Automobile  Boulevard,  and  in  due  time  there  is  little 
doubt  but  that  automobiles  will  be  able  to  descend  to  the 
Camp,  and  their  owners  enjoy  its  hospitality. 

Its  location  suggests  many  advantages  for  the  angler,  the 
famous  Indian  fishing  grounds  being  located  at  the  mouth 
of  the  bay.  Cascade,  Eagle,  and  the  unfished  Velma  Lakes 
are  easily  accessible  to  trampers,  the  outlets  from  these  fur- 
nishing sporty  brook  trout  fishing.  These  streams  and  lakes 
are  all  stocked  with  Eastern  brook,  Loch  Levin  and  cut- 
throat. The  protected  waters  of  the  bay  make  boating  safe 
and  bathing  a  comfortable  delight. 

But  not  all  the  beauty  of  nature  and  the  advantages  of 
excellent  location  can  make  a  popular  camp.  There  is  much 
in  the  individuality  of  those  who  own  or  "  run  "  it.  Em- 
erald Bay  Camp  is  owned  by  Mr.  Nelson  L.  Salter,  for 
many  years  so  favorably  known  in  the  Yosemite  Valley,  and 
his  manager  is  Miss  Frances  A.  Hickey,  whose  experienced 
management  at  Camp  Lost  Arrow,  of  the  Yosemite,  endeared 
her  to  many  thousands  of  visitors.  Hence  in  this  regard 
Emerald   Bay   Camp   is   ideal. 

EAGLE   LAKE 

From  Emerald  Bay  Camp  there  are  quite  a  number  of 
interesting  trail  and  climbing  trips,  one  of  the  commonest 
of  which  is  that  to  Eagle  Lake. 

Taking  the  trail  west,  one  zigzags  to  the  north  until  the 


226      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Automobile  Boulevard  is  reached.  A  half  mile's  walk  brings 
one  to  the  bridge  over  Eagle  Creek.  Here  a  few  steps  lead 
to  the  head  of  the  upper  portion  of  Eagle  Falls,  which  dash 
down  a  hundred  feet  or  so  to  the  rocky  ledge,  from  whence 
they  fall  to  their  basin,  ere  they  flow  out  to  join  the  waters 
of  Emerald  Bay. 

A  few  yards  beyond  the  bridge  the  trail  starts.  It  is  a 
genuine  mountain  trail,  now  over  rough  jagged  blocks  of 
granite,  then  through  groves  of  pines,  firs,  tamaracks  and 
spruces,  where  flowers,  ferns,  mosses  and  liverworts  delight 
the  eyes  as  they  gaze  down,  and  the  spiculae  and  cones  and 
blue  sky  thrill  one  with  delight  as  they  look  above,  and  where 
the  sunlight  glitters  through  the  trees  as  they  look  ahead. 
To  the  right  Eagle  Creek  comes  noisily  down,  over  falls 
and  cascades,  making  its  own  music  to  the  accompaniment 
of  the  singing  voices  of  the  trees.  Now  and  again  the  creek 
comes  to  a  quiet,  pastoral  stretch,  where  it  becomes  absolutely 
"  still  water."  Not  that  it  is  motionless,  but  noiseless,  cov- 
ered over  with  trees  and  vines,  that  reflect  upon  its  calm  sur- 
face and  half  hide  the  trout  that  float  so  easily  and  lazily 
through  its  clear,  pure,  cold  stream. 

There  is  enough  of  climbing  to  call  into  exercise  long 
unused  muscles,  the  granite  blocks  are  rough,  angular  and 
irregular  enough  to  exercise  eyes,  hands  and  feet  to  keep  one 
from  falling,  and  the  lungs  are  filled  with  balsam-ladened 
mountain-air,  fresh  from  God's  own  perfect  laboratories, 
healing,  vivifying,  rejuvenating,  strengthening,  while  the 
heart  is  helped  on  and  encouraged  to  pump  more  and  more 
of  its  blood,  drawn  from  long  almost  quiescent  cells  into  the 
air-chambers  of  the  lungs,  there  to  receive  the  purifying  and 
life-giving  oxygen  and  other  chemical  elements  that  multiply 
the  leucocytes  vastly  and  set  them  at  work  driving  out  the  dis- 
ease germs  that  accumulate  and  linger  in  every  city-living 
man's  and  woman's  system. 


EMERALD  BAY  AND  CAMP  227 

Suddenly  from  a  little  rise  the  lake  is  revealed.  Eagle 
Lake,  or  Pine  Lake,  or  Spruce  Lake,  or  Hidden  Lake,  or 
Granite  Lake,  or  Sheltered  Lake  —  any  of  these  names  would 
be  appropriate.  Almost  circular  in  form  —  that  is  if  you  are 
not  expected  to  be  too  rigidly  exact  in  geometric  terms  — 
it  is  literally  a  jewel  of  lapis  lazuli  in  a  setting  of  granite 
cliffs. 

Here  one  may  sit  and  rest,  enjoying  the  placid  waters  of 
the  lake,  the  rugged  grandeur  of  the  immediate  cliffs,  or  the 
slopes  of  the  towering  mountains  that  encircle  the  horizon. 

Eagle  Lake  is  but  one  of  the  hundred  of  glacially  made 
Sierran  lakes  of  the  Tahoe  region,  but  a  study  of  its  idiosyn- 
crasies would  reveal  distinctive  and  charming  characteristics. 

CATHEDRAL    PEAK 

There  are  two  Cathedral  Peaks  at  Tahoe,  one  above 
Cathedral  Park  on  Fallen  Leaf  Lake,  the  other  at  the  rear 
of  Emerald  Bay  Camp.  Early  in  the  season,  191 4,  three 
girls  decided  to  climb  this  peak  from  the  camp  although  there 
was  no  trail.  One  of  them  wrote  the  following  account  of 
the  trip : 

The  most  interesting  peak  of  the  Rubicon  ridge  is  Cathe- 
dral. The  mountain  rises  directly  back  of  Emerald  Bay, 
some  three  thousand  feet  above  the  Lake.  About  six  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  camp  there  is  a  meadow  where  larkspur 
grows  four  and  five  feet  high.  But  from  Eagle  Creek  the 
aspect  is  quite  different.  There  are  no  soft  contours. 
Huge  rocks  pile  up  —  one  great  perpendicular  surface  add- 
ing five  hundred  feet  to  the  height  —  into  spires  and  domes 
for  all  the  world  like  some  vast  cathedral  which  taunts  the 
soul  with  its  aloofness.  If,  on  some  sunshiny  afternoon  you 
look  up  from  the  camp  and  see  a  ghost-moon  hanging,  no 
more  than  a  foot  above  the  highest  spire,  you  must  surely 
be  "  citified  "  if  you  do  not  pause  to  drink  in  its  weird  sub- 
limity and  wild  beauty. 

Many  winters  of  storm  and  snow  have  loosed  the  rocks 


228      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

and  carried  them  down  the  mountain.  Those  thrown  down 
years  ago  are  moss-covered  and  have  collected  enough  soil 
in  their  crevices  to  nourish  underbrush  and  large  trees. 
But  there  are  bare  rocks  along  Eagle  Creek  to-day  large 
enough  for  a  man  to  hew  a  cabin  from.  Standing  in  awe  of 
their  size  one  surely  must  look  curiously  up  the  mountain 
to  find  the  spaces  they  once  occupied.  Then,  taking  in  the 
size  of  the  peak  it  is  equally  natural  that  one  should  be 
filled  with  a  desire  to  climb  it  and  look  down  the  other 
side  and  across  the  vista  to  the  neighboring  ranges.  While 
we  were  getting  used  to  the  altitude  we  stood  below  admir- 
ing. Every  evening  we  went  out  on  the  wharf,  gazed  up 
at  its  grandeur  and  discussed  the  best  way  to  go,  for  though 
we  knew  we  should  have  to  break  our  own  trail,  we  had 
decided  to  attempt  the  climb.  We  set  a  day  and  the  hour 
for  rising;  the  night  before  laid  out  our  tramping  clothes 
and  religiously  went  to  bed  at  eight.  I  doubt  if  any  of  us 
slept,  for  we  were  used  to  later  hours  and  excitement  kept 
us  awake. 

As  it  was  the  first  trip  of  the  season,  we  lost  some  time  at 
the  start,  admiring  each  others'  costumes.  Two  of  us  ad- 
hered to  the  regulation  short  skirt  and  bloomers,  but  the 
third  girl  wore  trousers,  poked  into  the  top  of  her  high 
boots.  This  proved,  by  far,  the  most  satisfactory  dress  be- 
fore the  day's  tramping  was  done.  We  got  started  at  four- 
thirty.  The  first  awakened  birds  were  twittering.  The 
shadows  of  the  moraine  lay  reflected  in  the  unruffled  sur- 
face of  the  Bay.  Gradually  rosy  flushes  showed  in  the  east. 
By  the  time  we  reached  the  meadow  the  sun  rose  suddenly 
above  the  Nevada  mountains  and  some  of  the  chill  went 
out  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  meadow  was  flooded  with  snow-water.  Beyond,  the 
mountain  rose  by  sheer  steps  of  rock  with  slides  of  decom- 
posed granite  between.  We  avoided  the  under-brush  as  far 
as  possible,  preferring  to  take  back  and  forth  across  the 
loose  granite.  The  wind  came  up  as  we  left  the  meadow, 
grew  in  force  as  we  climbed.  Some  one  suggested  break- 
fast, and  then  there  began  a  search  for  a  sheltered  place. 
A  spot  sided  by  three  bowlders  away  from  under-brush  was 
decided  upon.     By  the  time  the  fire  was  built  the  wind  was 


EMERALD  BAY  AND  CAMP  229 

a  gale  sending  the  flames  leaping  in  every  direction  —  up 
the  rocks  and  up  our  arms  as  we  broiled  the  bacon. 
Breakfast  was  a  failure,  as  far  as  comfort  was  concerned.  It 
was  a  relief  when  we  finally  tramped  out  the  embers  and 
resumed  our  journey. 

The  top  of  a  long  snow-drift  was  a  previously  chosen 
land-mark.  It  was  seven  when  we  reached  the  top  of  it. 
Some  one  came  out  on  the  Bay  in  a  row-boat  —  we  were 
too  high  for  recognition  —  thought  better  of  it  and  went 
back.  Towards  the  top  we  left  the  decomposed  granite 
and  underbrush  behind,  climbing  the  rocks  In  preference  to 
the  snow,  where  the  choice  was  allowed  us.  The  wind 
howled  and  shrieked,  and  blew  with  a  force  great  enough 
to  destroy  balance,  while  its  icy  touch  brought  the  blood 
tingling  to  our  cheeks. 

At  last  we  reached  the  summit.  And  oh!  the  joy  of 
achievement. 

All  Rubicon  ridge  and  its  neighbors,  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  see,  were  white  with  snow;  the  lakes  In  the  valley  be- 
low were  still  frozen  —  only  one  showing  any  blue. 
Clouds  came  up  rapidly  from  the  west,  rushed  by  to  the 
Nevada  side  where  they  piled  up  in  great  cumulous  heaps. 
The  apex  of  Pyramid  was  cloud-capped  all  day.  Shifting 
gusts  drove  the  waters  of  Tahoe  scurrying  first  this  way, 
then  that.  Where  in  the  early  morning  every  tree  had 
viewed  her  image  among  the  reflected  tints  of  sunrise,  at 
ten-thirty  white-caps  flashed  and  disappeared  to  flash  in  a 
different  place  among  the  everchanging  eddies.  Cascade 
and  Fallen  Leaf  Lakes  presented  a  continuous  procession 
of  white-caps  to  the  east,  while  Eagle  lay  black  and  sinister 
in  the  shadow  of  Maggie's  Peaks. 

After  lunch,  the  wind  blowing  too  cold  for  comfort,  we 
started  home,  straight  down  —  over  snow,  granite  and  under- 
brush —  till  we  hit  the  State  Highway.  Here  we  found  a 
sheltered  place  by  a  creek  and  talked  over  the  day's  happenings. 

Along  the  roadside  we  drew  up  a  resolution  on  the  satis- 
faction of  the  trip.  The  girl  who  had  been  cold  all  day 
didn't  ever  want  to  see  snow  again,  but  already  the  others 
were  discussing  a  possible  ascent  from  the  Eagle  Creek 
side  —  so  great  is  the  lure  of  the  high  places. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

AL-TAHOE 

AL-TAHOE,  four  miles  east  of  Tallac,  is  one  of 
the  newer,  better  and  more  fashionable  and  pre- 
tentious resorts  recently  established  at  the  south 
end  of  the  Lake.  Its  projectors  saw  the  increasing  demand 
for  summer  residences  on  the  Lake,  and  realizing  to  the 
full  the  superior  advantages  of  this  location,  they  divided 
their  large  holding  into  suitable  villa  and  bungalow  sites, 
and  other  lots,  and  readily  disposed  of  a  number  of  them  to 
those  who  were  ready  to  build.  To  further  the  colonizing 
plans  of  these  chosen  and  selected  purchasers  a  fine,  modern, 
well-equipped  hotel  was  erected,  replete  with  every  conven- 
ience and  luxury  that  progressive  Americans  now  expect  and 
demand  in  their  chosen  resorts.  The  result  is  quite  a  settle- 
ment has  grown  up,  and  Al-Tahoe  sees  ahead  an  era  of  rapid 
growth  and  prosperity.  Its  homes  are  substantial  and  beau- 
tiful and  indicate  that  John  LeConte's  prophecy,  elsewhere 
quoted,  is  already  coming  to  pass.  Pasadena  capitalists  are 
behind  the  hotel  and  town  project. 

Being  advantageously  located  on  the  State  and  National 
automobile  boulevard,  and  near  to  all  the  choice  mountain, 
lake  and  other  resorts  of  the  southern  end  of  Tahoe,  it  ap- 
peals to  those  who  wish  to  combine  equally  ready  access  to 
civilization  with  the  wild  ruggedness  and  infinite  variety  of 
many-featured  Nature. 

It  is  situated  on  a  high  plateau,  gently  sloping  from  the 
bluff,  with  a  Lake-frontage  of  about  three  quarters  of  a 

230 


AL-TAHOE  231 

mile.  The  land  rises  with  a  gentle  slope  to  the  edge  of  the 
terrace  facing  the  stream,  meadow,  and  mountains  on  the 
south. 

With  no  stagnant  water,  there  are  practically  no  mosqui- 
toes, and  it  is  confessedly  one  of  the  most  healthful  spots  of 
all  this  health  giving  region.  Being  on  a  lea  shore,  the  cold 
air  from  the  snowy  summits  of  the  mountains  tempered  by 
the  warm  soil  of  the  foothills  and  level  area,  there  is  no  place 
on  the  Lake  better  adapted  for  bathing  and  boating,  espe- 
cially as  the  beach  is  sandy  and  shallow,  sloping  ofi  for  some 
distance  from  the  shore. 

The  accompanying  photographs  give  some  idea  of  the  hotel 
and  its  cottages,  together  with  some  Al-Tahoe  homes.  The 
water  supply  for  the  town  and  hotel  is  gained  from  beauti- 
ful and  pure  Star  Lake,  3000  feet  higher  than  Lake  Tahoe, 
and  where  snow  may  be  seen  during  the  entire  year.  The 
Al-Tahoe  Company  owns  its  own  electric  generating  plant 
and  supplies  all  the  cottages  with  electric  light. 

The  hotel  itself  is  conducted  on  the  American  plan,  and 
in  every  modern  way  meets  the  requirements  of  the  most 
exacting  patrons.  Amusements  of  every  kind  are  provided, 
and  there  is  a  good  livery  stable  and  automobile  garage. 

The  town  itself  is  being  built  up  with  a  select  class  of 
summer  residents.  No  saloons  are  allowed.  There  are  still 
desirable  lots  for  sale,  and  the  Al-Tahoe  Company,  or  L.  H. 
Bannister,  the  Postmaster,  will  be  glad  to  correspond  with 
any  who  contemplate  purchasing  or  building.  Letters  may 
be  addressed  to  either  at  Al-Tahoe,  Lake  Tahoe,  Calif. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

GLEN    ALPINE    SPRINGS 

THE  earliest  of  all  the  resorts  of  the  Tahoe  region 
away  from  the  shores  of  Tahoe  itself,  Glen  Alpine 
Springs  still  retains  its  natural  supremacy.  Lo- 
cated seven  miles  away  from  Tallac,  reached  by  excellent 
roads  in  automobile  stages,  sequestered  and  sheltered,  yet 
absolutely  in  the  very  heart  of  the  most  interesting  part  of 
the  Tahoe  region,  scenically  and  geologically,  it  continues  to 
attract  an  increasing  number  of  the  better  class  of  guests 
that  annually  visit  these  divinely-favored  California  Sierras. 
John  Muir  wrote  truthfully  when  he  said : 

The  Glen  Alpine  Springs  tourist  resort  seems  to  me  one 
of  the  most  delightful  places  in  all  the  famous  Tahoe  re- 
gion. From  no  other  valley,  as  far  as  I  know,  may  excur- 
sions be  made  in  a  single  day  to  so  many  peaks,  wild  gar- 
dens, glacier  lakes,  glacier  meadows,  and  Alpine  groves,  cas- 
cades, etc. 

The  drive  from  Tallac  around  Fallen  Leaf  Lake  under 
trees  whose  boles  form  arch  or  portal,  framing  pictures  of 
the  sunny  lake,  is  a  memorable  experience ;  then  on  past  Glen 
Alpine  Falls,  Lily  Lake,  and  Modjeska  Falls,  up  the  deep 
mountain  glen,  where  the  road  ends  at  the  hospitable  cot- 
tages, log-houses  and  spacious  tents  of  Glen  Alpine. 

Here  is  the  world-famous  spring,  discovered  in  the  'fifties 
by  Nathan  Gilmore  (for  whom  Gilmore  Lake  is  named). 
Mr.  Gilmore  was  born  in  Ohio,  but,  when  a  mere  youth, 
instead  of  attending  college  and  graduating  in  law  as  his 

232 


ML"kriii:\ 


lAi.l.,   Al.    l.\llii|-:.   I  i.\    1.AKI-:   TAIIOE 


I'OKI  KKI-ll-.l.h   CoriACI-:,   Al.    lAllOK,   ON    LAKE  TAHOE 


GLEN  ALPINE  SPRINGS  233 

parents  had  arranged  for  and  expected,  he  yielded  to  the  lure 
of  the  California  gold  excitement,  came  West,  and  in  1850 
found  himself  in  Placerville.  In  due  time  he  married,  and 
to  the  sickness  of  his  daughter  Evelyn,  now  Mrs.  John  L. 
Ramsay,  of  Freewater,  Ore.,  is  owing  his  discovery  of  Glen 
Alpine.  The  doctor  ordered  him  to  bring  the  child  up  into 
the  mountains.  Accompanied  by  an  old  friend,  Barton 
Richardson,  of  the  James  Barton  Key  family  of  Philadel- 
phia, he  came  up  to  Tallac,  with  the  ailing  child  and  its 
mother.  Being  of  active  temperament  he  and  Mr.  Rich- 
ardson scaled  Mt.  Tallac,  and  in  returning  were  much  en- 
tranced by  Fallen  Leaf  Lake.  Later  Mr.  Gilmore  came  to 
Fallen  Leaf  alone,  wandering  over  Its  moraines  and  linger- 
ing by  its  shores  to  drink  in  its  impressive  and  growingly- 
overpowering  beauty.  In  those  days  there  was  no  road  at 
the  southern  end  of  Fallen  Leaf  and  the  interested  explorer 
was  perforce  led  to  follow  the  trails  of  bear,  deer  and 
other  wild  animals.  Rambling  through  the  woods,  some 
two  miles  above  the  lake  he  came  to  a  willow-surrounded 
swampy  place,  where  the  logs  and  fallen  trees  were  clearly 
worn  by  the  footprints  of  many  generations  of  wild  ani- 
mals. Prompted  by  curiosity  he  followed  the  hidden  trail, 
saw  where  a  small  stream  of  mineral-stained  water  was 
flowing,  observed  where  the  deer,  etc.,  had  licked  the  stones, 
and  finally  came  to  the  source  in  what  he  afterwards  called 
Glen  Alpine  Springs.  Scientific  observation  afterwards 
showed  that  the  water  had  an  almost  uniform  temperature, 
even  in  the  hottest  days  of  summer,  of  39.6  degrees  Fahr., 
and  that  there  was  free  caTbonic  acid  gas  to  the  extent  of 
138.36  cubic  inches.  The  analysis  revealed  that  each  U.  S. 
gallon  contained  grains  as  follows: 

Sodium  Chloride    ...   21.17     Ferrous  Carbonate   ..      1.8 

Sodium  Carbonate    .  .   32.75      Alumnia    1.43 

Potassium     Carbonate  Trace     Borates        Trace 


234      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Magnesium  Carbonate     9.96     Silica 2.50 

Calcium    Carbonate..   45.09     Organic  Matter   ....  Trace 

Calcium    Sulphate    . .     4.10  

Total  Solids   118.80 

The  water  is  pleasant  to  the  taste,  and,  as  has  been  shown, 
highly  charged  with  carbonic  acid  gas;  its  action  is  diu- 
retic, laxative  and  stimulative  to  the  entire  digestive  tract. 
Eminent  physicians  claim  that  it  is  beneficial  in  dyspepsia, 
torpid  liver,  kidney  and  bladder  irritation,  and  is  also  a 
tonic. 

Whether  this  be  true  or  not  I  cannot  saj^  but  I  do  know 
that  every  time  I  go  to  Glen  Alpine  I  drink  freely  and 
abundantly  of  the  water,  to  my  great  physical  pleasure  and 
satisfaction.  It  is  one  of  the  most  delicious  sparkling 
waters  I  have  ever  tasted,  as  gratifying  to  the  palate  and 
soothing  to  the  fevered  mucous  membranes  as  ApoUinaris 
or  Shasta  Water,  and  I  am  not  alone  in  the  wish  I  often 
express,  viz.,  that  I  might  have  such  a  spring  in  my  back- 
yard at  home. 

One  result  of  this  discovery  was  that  Mr.  Gilmore  de- 
cided to  locate  upon  the  land.  As  soon  as  the  first  claim 
was  made  secure  a  rude  one-roomed  cabin  was  built  and 
Mr.  Richardson  was  the  first  guest.  Preparatory  to  bring- 
ing his  family,  Mr.  Gilmore  added  two  more  rooms,  and  to 
render  ingress  easier  he  built  a  road  to  intersect  with  the 
Tallac  road  at  the  northern  end  of  Fallen  Leaf  Lake.  As 
this  had  to  be  blasted  out  with  black  powder, —  it  was  be- 
fore the  days  of  dynamite, —  Mr.  Gilmore's  devotion  to  the 
place  can  be  well  understood. 

When  his  daughters  grew  up,  they  and  their  friends  came 
here  to  spend  their  summers,  and  by  and  by,  almost  uncon- 
ciously,  but  pleasantly  and  agreeably,  the  place  became  a 
public  resort.  Though  Mr.  Gilmore  has  long  since  passed 
on,  having  died  in  Placerville,  Calif.,  in  the  year  1898,  Glen 


GLEN  ALPINE  SPRINGS  235 

Alpine  Springs  is  still  In  the  ownership  of  his  family,  and 
its  management  and  direction  is  entirely  in  their  hands. 

As  in  the  beginning  they  have  ever  sought  to  preserve  its 
character  of  simplicity.  It  is  their  aim  that  everything 
should  be  as  primitive  as  possible,  consonant  with  health  ful- 
ness, privacy  and  comfort.  While  no  sanitary  precautions 
are  neglected,  and  water,  hot  and  cold,  is  extravagantly  pro- 
vided, with  free  shower  baths,  there  are  none  of  the  frills 
and  furbelows  that  generally  convert  these  —  what  should 
be  —  simple  nature  resorts  into  bad  imitations  of  the  luxuri- 
ous hotels  of  the  city.  There  are  positively  no  dress  events. 
Men  and  women  are  urged  to  bring  their  old  clothes  and 
wear  them  out  here,  or  provide  only  khaki  or  corduroy, 
with  short  skirts,  bloomers  and  leggings  for  the  fair  sex. 
Strong  shoes  are  required ;  hob-nailed  if  one  expects  to  do 
any  climbing.  Wraps  for  evening,  and  heavy  underwear 
for  an  unusual  day  (storms  sometimes  come  in  Sierran  re- 
gions  unexpectedly),    are   sensible   precautions. 

Sleeping  out-of-doors  is  one  of  the  features  of  the  place, 
an  invigorating,  rejuvenating  joy,  which  Mark  Twain 
affirmed  was  able  to  destroy  any  amount  of  fatigue  that  a 
person's  body  could  gather.  Visitors  are  given  their  choice 
of  a  comfortable  bed  in  the  open,  in  a  cottage,  tent,  or  one 
of  the  main  buildings.  There  are  practically  no  rules  at 
Glen  Alpine  save  those  that  would  operate  in  any  respect- 
able home.  No  liquors  are  sold,  and  visitors  are  frankly 
told  that  "  If  they  must  have  liquid  stimulants  they  must 
bring  them  along."  In  order  that  those  who  desire  to  sleep 
may  not  be  disturbed  by  the  thoughtlessness  of  others, 
music  is  prohibited  after  ten  o'clock.  One  of  the  delights 
of  the  place  is  the  nightly  camp-fire.  Here  is  a  large  open 
space,  close  to  the  spring,  surrounded  by  commodious  and 
comfortable  canvas  seats,  that  will  easily  hold  eight  or  ten 
persons,   the  blazing  fire  is  started  every  evening.     Those 


236      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

who  have  musical  instruments  —  guitars,  banjos,  mandolins, 
flutes,  cornets,  violins,  and  even  the  plebeian  accordion  or 
the  modest  Jew's-harp  —  are  requested  to  bring  them. 
Solos,  choruses,  hymns  and  college  songs  are  indulged  in  to 
the  heart's  content.  Now  and  again  dances  are  given,  and 
when  any  speaker  arrives  who  is  willing  to  entertain  the 
guests,  a  talk,  lecture  or  sermon  is  arranged  for. 

Three  things  are  never  found  at  Glen  Alpine.  These  are 
poison-oak,  rattlesnakes  and  poisonous  insects.  The  rowdy, 
gambling  and  carousing  element  are  equally  absent,  for 
should  they  ever  appear,  they  speedily  discover  their  lack  of 
harmony  and  voluntarily  retire. 

While  the  Glen  Alpine  resort  is  not  situated  directly  on  one 
of  the  lakes,  it  owns  over  twenty  boats  on  eight  of  the  near- 
by lakes,  and  the  use  of  these  is  freely  accorded  to  its  guests. 
That  it  is  in  close  proximity  to  lakes  and  peaks  is  evidenced 
by  the  following  table,  which  gives  the  distance  in  miles 
from  the  hotel: 


Miles 

Miles 

lYz  Angora   Lake 

3>^  Gilmore  Lake 

4       American  Lake 

ZYa   Heather  Lake 

6       Avalanche  Lake 

334  Half  Moon  Lake 

y/4  Alta  Morris  Lake 

5       Kalmia  Lake 

7       Azure  Lake 

I       Lily  Lake 

5       Center  Lake 

234  Lucile   Lake 

5>^   Crystal  Lake 

3^  LeConte  Lake 

S}i.  Crater   Lake 

23^   Margery  Lake 

6       Cup  Lake 

34   Modjeska  Falls 

4^  Cathedral  Lake 

3/4  Observation    Point 

55^   Echo  Lake 

434   Olney  Lake 

2       Fallen  Leaf  Lake 

434   Pit  Lake 

554  Floating  Island  Lake 

6       Pyramid  Lake 

434   Forest  Lake 

4^  Rainbow  Lake 

6       Fontinalis    Lake 

2^  Susie  Lake 

i>4   Glen  Alpine  Falls 

33^  Susie  Lake  Falls 

134   Grass  Lake 

2^   Summit  Lake 

4^4  Grouse  Lake 

6       Snow  Lake 

1 


CLUSTER  OF  TENTS,  GLEN  ALPINE  SPRINGS 


ci.i'.x  Ai.rixi-:  I'Ai.i.s.  xi  \i<  i,i  i  \  ai.i'Ixk  si'Kixc 


IN    TJIK   -(iOOl)   ol.l)    DANS."     (il.lCN    ALl'lNIC   STACI':   Al'TUOAllI- 

ixc  oi'i'icK  AT  gli:n  alpine  Sl'RlNt;S 


GLEN  ALPINE  SPRINGS  237 

Miles  Miles 

^Yi  Tamarack  Lake  2^  Keiths  Dome 

6  Tallac  Lake  7       Pyramid    Peak 

7  Tahoe  Lake  63^  Ralston  Peak 
6^  Velma  Lakes  zYa  Richardsons  Peak 

zVa  Woods,  Lake  of  the         5  Upper  Truckee  River 

zYi.  Angora  Peak  4^  Mt.  Tallac 

534  Dicks  Peak  7  Mt.  Agassiz 

SVi  Jacks  Peak  3  Cracked  Crag 

As  the  proprietors  of  Glen  Alpine  ask:  "Where  else  out- 
side of  Switzerland  is  there  a  like  region  of  lakes  (forty- 
odd)  and  world  of  Sierran  grandeur,  such  air  with  the  tonic 
of  altitude,  mineral-spring  water,  trout-fishing,  and  camara- 
derie of  kindred  spirits!" 

While  the  foregoing  list  gives  a  comprehensive  sugges- 
tion of  the  wide  reach  of  Glen  Alpine's  territory  there  are 
several  especial  peaks  and  lakes  that  are  peculiarly  its  own. 
These  are  Pyramid,  Agassiz,  Dicks,  Jacks,  Richardsons, 
Ralston,  and  the  Angora  Peaks,  Mount  Tallac,  Mosquito 
Pass,  and  Lakes  Olney,  LeConte,  Heather,  Susie,  Grass, 
Lucile,  Margery,  and  Summit  with  Lake  of  the  Woods  and 
others  in  Desolation  Valley,  Gilmore,  Half  Moon,  Alta, 
Morris,  Lily,  Tamarack,  Rainbow,  Grouse,  and  the  Upper 
iand  Lower  Echo.  Desolation  Valley  and  all  its  surround- 
ings is  also  within  close  reach.  This  is  some  four  miles 
i  westward  of  Glen  Alpine  Springs,  and  is  reached  by  way  of 
easy  mountain  trails  under  sweet-scented  pines  and  gnarled 
old  junipers;  besides  singing  streams;  across  crystal  lakes, 
through  a  cliff-guarded  glade  where  snowbanks  linger  until 
midsummer,  ever  renewing  the  carpet  of  green,  decking  it 
with  heather  and  myriad  exquisite  mountain  blossoms. 
On,  over  a  granite  embankment,  and  lo !  your  feet  are  stayed 
and  your  heart  is  stilled  as  your  eyes  behold  marvelous 
Desolation  Valley.  Greeting  you  on  its  southern  boundary 
stands    majestic    Pyramid    Peak,    with    its    eternal    snows. 


238      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY— LAKE  TAHOE 

Lofty  companions  circling  to  your  very  feet  make  the  walls 
forming  the  granite  cradle  of  Olney,  the  Lake  of  Mazes. 
The  waters  are  blue  as  the  skies  above  them,  and  pure  as 
the  melting  snows  from  Pyramid  which  form  them.  He 
who  has  not  looked  upon  this,  the  most  remarkable  of  all 
the  wonder  pictures  in  the  Tahoe  region,  has  missed  that 
for  which  there  is  no  substitute. 

The  whole  Glen  Alpine  basin, —  which  practically  ex- 
tends from  the  Tallac  range  on  the  north,  from  Heather 
Lake  Pass  (the  outlet  from  Desolation  Valley)  and 
Cracked  Crag  on  the  west  and  southwest,  Ralston  Peak 
and  range  to  the  south  and  the  Angora  Peaks  on  the  east, 
—  is  one  mass  of  glacial  scoriations.  Within  a  few  stone- 
throws  of  the  spring,  on  a  little-used  trail  to  Grass  Lake, 
there  are  several  beautiful  and  interesting  markings.  One 
of  these  is  a  finely  defined  curve  or  groove,  extending  for 
lOO  feet  or  more,  above  which,  about  lYz  feet,  is  another 
groove,  some  two  to  four  feet  wide.  These  run  rudely 
parallel  for  some  distance,  then  unite  and  continue  as  one. 
Coming  back  to  the  trail  —  a  hundred  or  so  feet  away, — 
on  the  left  hand  side  returning  to  the  spring,  is  a  gigantic 
sloping  granite  block,  perfectly  polished  with  glacial  action, 
and  black  as  though  its  surface  had  been  coated  in  the  proc- 
ess. Near  here  the  trail  ducks  or  markers  are  placed  in  a 
deep  grooving  or  trough  three  or  four  feet  wide,  and  of 
equal  depth,  while  to  the  right  are  two  other  similar 
troughs  working  their  winding  and  tortuous  way  into  the 
valley  beneath. 

In  Chapter  VHI  an  idea  is  given  of  the  movements  of 
the  great  glaciers  that  formed  Desolation  Valley  and  all  the 
nearby  lakes,  as  well  as  Glen  Alpine  basin.  These  gigantic 
ice-sheets,  with  their  firmly-wedged  carving  blocks  of 
granite,  moved  over  the  Heather  Lake  Pass,  gouging  out 
that  lake,  and  Susie  Lake,  in  its  onward  march,  and  then, 


GLEN  ALPINE  SPRINGS  239 

added  to  by  glacial  flows  from  Cracked  Crag,  the  southern 
slopes  of  the  Tallac  range,  and  the  Angora  Peaks,  it  passed 
on  and  down,  shaping  this  interestingly  rugged,  wild  and 
picturesque  basin  as  we  find  it  to-day.  How  many  cen- 
turies of  cutting  and  gouging,  beveling  and  grooving  were 
required  to  accomplish  this,  who  can  tell?  Never  resting, 
never  halting,  ever  moving,  irresistibly  cutting,  carving, 
grinding  and  demolishing,  it  carried  away  its  millions  of 
millions  of  tons  or  rocky  debris  in  bowlders,  pebbles,  sand 
and  mud,  and  thus  helped  make  the  gigantic  moraines  of 
Fallen  Leaf  Lake.  The  ice-flow  itself  passed  along  over 
where  the  terminal  moraine  now  stands,  cutting  out  Fallen 
Leaf  Lake  basin  in  its  movement,  and  finally  rested  in  the 
vast  bowl  of  Lake  Tahoe. 

To  the  careful  student  every  foot  of  Glen  Alpine  basin 
is  worthy  of  study,  and  he  who  desires  to  further  the  cause 
of  science  will  do  well  to  make  a  map  of  his  observations, 
recording  the  direction,  appearance,  depth,  length  and  width 
of  all  the  glacial  markings  he  discovers.  On  the  U.  S. 
Government  maps  the  stream  flowing  through  Glen  Alpine 
basin  is  marked  as  Eau  Claire  Creek.  To  the  proprietors 
of  Glen  Alpine,  and  the  visitors,  the  French  name  is  absurd 
and  out  of  place.  No  Frenchman  has  ever  resided  here, 
and  if  it  was  desired  to  call  it  Clear  Water  Creek,  why  not 
use  good,  understandable,  common-sense  English.  At  the 
request  of  those  most  intimately  concerned,  therefore,  the 
name  has  been  changed  on  the  map  that  accompanies  this 
volume,  to  Glen  Alpine  Creek,  a  name  that  "  belongs  "  and 
to  which  no  one  can  possibly  have  any  objection. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

FALLEN    LEAF    LAKE    AND    ITS   RESORTS 

FALLEN  LEAF  LAKE  is  a  noble  body  of  water, 
three  and  a  half  miles  long  and  about  one  mile 
across.  Why  it  is  called  Fallen  Leaf  is  fully  ex- 
plained in  the  chapter  on  Indian  Legends.  Some  people 
have  thought  it  was  named  from  its  shape,  but  this  cannot 
be,  for,  from  the  summit  of  Mt.  Tallac,  every  one  instantly 
notices  its  resemblance  to  the  imprint  of  a  human  foot.  It 
is  shaped  more  like  a  cork-sole,  as  if  cut  out  of  the  solid 
rock,  filled  up  with  a  rich  indigo-blue  fluid,  and  then  made 
extra  beautiful  and  secluded  with  a  rich  tree  and  plant 
growth  on  every  slope  that  surrounds  it. 

The  color  of  the  water  is  as  richly  blue  as  is  Tahoe  it- 
self, and  there  is  the  same  suggestion  of  an  emerald  ring 
around  it,  as  in  the  larger  Lake,  though  this  ring  is  neither 
so  wide  nor  so  highly  colored. 

In  elevation  it  is  some  80  feet  above  Lake  Tahoe,  thus 
giving  it  an  altitude  of  6300  feet. 

At  the  upper  end,  near  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge,  under  the 
cliffs  it  has  a  depth  of  over  380  feet,  but  it  becomes  much 
shallower  at  the  northern  or  lower  end  near  the  outlet. 
Its  surroundings  are  majestic  and  enthralling  as  well  as  pic- 
turesque and  alluring.  On  the  west  Mt.  Tallac  towers  its 
nearly  10,000  feet  into  the  sea  of  the  upper  air,  flanked  on 
the  south  by  the  lesser  noble  and  majestic  Cathedral  Peak. 
In  the  earlier  part  of  the  season  when  these  are  covered 
with  snow,  the  pure  white  materially  enhances  the  splendor 

240 


GLEN  ALPINE  FALLS 


FALLEN  LEAF  LAKE  AND  ITS  RESORTS       241 

of  both  mountain  and  lake  by  enriching  their  varied  color- 
ings with  the  marked  contrast. 

To  the  southwest  rise  the  Angora  Peaks,  and  these  like- 
wise catch,  and  hold  the  winter's  snow,  often,  like  Mt.  Tal- 
lac,  retaining  beds  of  neve  from  year  to  year. 

To  the  geological  student,  especially  one  interested  in 
glacial  phenomena,  the  lateral  and  terminal  moraines  of 
Fallen  Leaf  Lake  are  of  marked  and  unusual  interest. 
The  moraine  on  the  east  is  upwards  of  looo  feet  high,  and 
is  a  majestic  ridge,  clothed  from  the  lake  shore  to  its  summit 
with  a  rich  growth  of  pines,  firs  and  hemlocks.  Its  great 
height  and  bulk  will  suggest  to  the  thoughtful  reader  the 
questions  as  to  how  it  was  formed,  and  whence  came  all  the 
material  of  its  manufacture.  It  extends  nearly  the  whole 
length  of  the  lake,  diminishing  somewhat  in  size  at  the 
northern  end.  There  is  a  corresponding  moraine  on  the 
western  side  not  less  compelling  in  its  interest  though 
scarcely  as  large  in  size  as  its  eastern  counterpart.  The 
terminal  moraine,  which  is  the  one  that  closed  up  the  lake, 
separating  and  raising  it  above  the  level  of  Lake  Tahoe,  is  a 
less  noble  mound,  yet  geologically  it  allures  the  mind  and 
demands  study  as  much  as  the  others.  In  Chapter  VIII, 
Dr.  Joseph  LeConte's  theories  are  given  in  full  explaining 
the  various  glacial  phenomena  connected  with  this  lake. 

The  fish  of  Fallen  Leaf  are  practically  the  same  as  those 
of  Tahoe,  though  rod  and  fly  fishing  is  more  indulged  in 
here. 

Boating,  canoeing  and  the  use  of  the  motor  boat  are 
daily  recreations,  and  swimming  is  regularly  indulged  in 
during  the  summer  season. 

FALLEN    LEAF    LODGE 

The  distinguishing  characteristics  of  this  resort  are  sim- 
plicity,   home-likeness,    unostentation.     It   makes   its   appeal 


242       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

especially  to  the  thoughtful  and  the  studious,  the  not  lux- 
uriously rich,  those  who  love  Nature  rather  than  the  ele- 
gance of  a  first-class  hotel,  and  who  desire  to  climb  trails, 
study  trees,  hunt,  fish,  and  generally  recreate  out-of-doors 
rather  than  dress  and  fare  sumptuously. 

It  is  situated  on  the  southwestern  edge  of  Fallen  Leaf 
Lake,  five  miles  from  Tallac,  reached  by  a  road  that  winds 
through  the  trees  of  the  Baldwin  estate,  and  then  skirts 
the  eastern  and  southern  shores  of  the  Lake.  Stages  — 
horse  and  automobile  —  run  daily  during  the  season  and 
meet  all  the  steamers  at  Tallac. 

The  "  Lodge  "  consists  of  a  number  of  detached  buildings, 
conveniently  and  picturesquely  scattered  among  the  pines  on 
the  slopes  and  at  the  edge  of  the  lake.  There  are  dining  hall, 
social  hall,  post  office,  store,  electric  power-house,  boat- 
house,  with  stables  far  enough  away  to  be  sanitary,  and 
cottages  and  tents  located  in  every  suitable  nook  that  can  be 
found.  There  are  one,  two  or  three-roomed  cottages,  tents, 
single  and  double,  all  in  genuine  camp  style.  There  is  no 
elegance  or  luxury,  though  most  of  the  cottages  have  mod- 
ern toilets,  porcelain  bath-tubs  with  running  hot  and  cold 
water.     Electric  lights  are  everywhere. 

The  camp  has  been  in  existence  now  (191 5)  for  seven 
years  and  each  year  has  seen  considerable  enlargement  and 
improvement,  until  now  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge  in  the  heart  of 
the  summer  season  is  an  active,  busy,  happy  and  home-like 
community. 

The  table  is  wholesome,  substantial  and  appetizing. 
There  is  no  pretense  at  elaborateness.  Home-cooking,  well 
served,  of  simple  and  healthful  dishes,  in  reasonable  variety, 
is  all  that  is  offered. 

Needless  to  say  there  is  no  bar  or  saloon,  though  there 
is  no  attempt  to  compel  a  personal  standpoint  on  the  liquor 


FALLEN  LEAF  LAKE  AND  ITS  RESORTS      243 

question  upon  those  who  are  accustomed  to  the  use  of  alco- 
holic liquors  at  ,meals. 

In  its  natural  beauties  and  advantages  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge 
claims  —  and  with  strong  justification  —  one  of  the  very 
best  of  locations.  Fallen  Leaf  Lake  is  large  enough  to  give 
scope  to  all  the  motor-boats,  row-boats,  canoes  and  launches 
that  are  likely  to  be  brought  to  it  for  the  next  hundred 
years,  and  ten  thousand  fishermen  could  successfully  angle 
upon  its  bosom  or  along  its  shores.  For  millions  of  Tahoe 
trout,  rainbow,  Eastern  brook.  Loch  Levin,  Mackinac  and 
German  brown  have  been  put  into  this  and  nearby  lakes  in 
the  last  few  years.  While  some  jerk-line  fishing  is  indulged 
in,  this  lake,  unlike  Lake  Tahoe,  affords  constant  recreation 
for  the  more  sportsmanlike   fly-fishing. 

Another  of  the  special  advantages  of  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge 
is  its  possession  of  a  fine  log-house  and  camp  on  the  shore 
of  Lake  of  the  Woods,  five  miles  away,  in  Desolation  Val- 
ley. To  those  who  wish  to  fish  in  greater  solitude,  to  climb 
the  peaks  of  the  Crystal  Range,  or  boat  over  the  many  and 
various  lakes  of  Desolation  Valley  this  is  a  great  conveni- 
ence. 

Nothing  can  surpass  the  calm  grandeur  of  the  setting  of 
this  glorious  beautiful  water.  Lying  at  the  lower  edge  of 
Desolation  Valley  and  facing  stupendous  mountains,  the 
picture  it  presents,  with  Pyramid  Peak  reflected  in  its  gor- 
geously lit-up  sunset  waters,  is  one  that  will  forever  linger 
in  the  memory. 

The  close  proximity  of  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge  to  Mt.  Tal- 
lac.  Cathedral  Peak,  the  Angora  Peaks,  Mounts  Jack,  Dick, 
and  Richardson,  Ralston  Peak,  Keith's  Dome,  Maggie's 
Peaks,  Tell's  Peak,  with  the  towering  peaks  of  the  Crystal 
Range  —  Pyramid  and  Agassiz  —  to  the  west,  and  Freel's, 
Job's  and  Job's  Sister  to  the  southeast,  afford  an  abundance 


244       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

and  variety  of  mountain-climbing  that  are  seldom  found  in 
any  region,  however  favored. 

But  in  addition  to  the  peaks  there  are  Sierran  lakes  ga- 
lore, rich  in  unusual  beauty  and  picturesqueness,  and  most 
of  them  stocked  with  trout  that  compel  the  exertion  of  the 
angler's  skill,  as  much  as  tickle  the  palate  of  the  uncor- 
rupted  epicure.  Close  by  are  Cascade,  Cathedral,  Floating 
Island,  Echo,  Heather,  Lucile,  Margery,  Gilmore,  Le 
Conte,  Lily,  Susie,  Tamarack,  Grouse,  Lake  of  the  Woods, 
Avalanche,  Pit,  Crystal,  Pyramid,  Half  Moon,  with  the 
marvelous  and  alluring  maze  of  lakes,  bays,  straits,  channels, 
inlets  and  "  blind  alleys  "  of  the  Lake  Olney  of  the  ever- 
fascinating  Desolation  Valley.  And  those  I  have  named  are 
all  within  comparatively  easy  walking  distance  to  the  ordi- 
narily healthful  and  vigorous  man  or  woman.  For  those 
who  seek  more  strenuous  exercise,  or  desire  horse-back  or 
camping-out  trips  another  twenty,  aye  fifty  lakes,  within 
a  radius  of  fifty  miles  may  be  found,  with  their  connecting 
creeks,  streams  and  rivers  where  gamey  trout  abound,  and 
where  flowers,  shrubs  and  trees  in  never-ceasing  variety  and 
charm  tempt  the  botanist  and  nature-lover. 

While  to  some  it  may  not  be  an  attraction,  to  others  there 
may  be  both  pleasure  and  interest  in  witnessing  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Fallen  Leaf  sawmill.  This  is  situated  on  the 
western  side  of  the  lake,  and  is  a  scene  of  activity  and  bustle 
when  logging  and  lumbering  are  in  progress.  On  the  hills 
about  the  lake  the  "  fellers  "  may  be  found,  chopping  their 
w^ay  into  the  hearts  of  the  forest  monarchs  of  pine,  fir  and 
cedar,  and  then  inserting  the  saw,  whose  biting  teeth  soon 
cut  from  rim  to  rim  and  cause  the  crashing  downfall  of  trees 
that  have  stood  for  centuries.  Denuded  of  their  limbs  these 
are  then  sawn  into  appropriate  lengths,  "  snaked  "  by  chains 
pulled  by  powerful  horses  to  the  "  chute,"  down  which  they 
are  shot  into  the  lake,  from  whence  they  are  easily  towed  to 


BOATING  OX  FALLEN  LEAF  LAKE 


FALLEN  LEAF  LODGE  AMONG  THE  PINES,  ON  FALLEN  LEAF 

LAKE 


uip  ARassiz  Boys  setting  out  for  &  Trip,  I>akt   Tahoe,  Cair  i| 


Copyright    19  lo,   by    Harold   A.    Parker. 

TAHOE  MEADOWS,  WITH  MT.  TALLAC  IN  THE  DISTANCE 


FALLEN  LEAF  LAKE  AND  ITS  RESORTS       245 

the  mill.  The  chute  consists  of  felled  logs,  laid  side  by  side, 
evenly  and  regularly,  so  as  to  form  a  continuous  trough. 
This  is  greased,  so  that  when  the  heavy  logs  are  placed 
therein  they  slide  of  their  own  weight,  where  there  is  a  de- 
clivity, and  are  easily  dragged  or  propelled  on  the  level 
ground. 

I  use  the  word  propelled  to  suggest  the  interesting  method 
used  in  these  chutes.  Sometimes  ten  or  a  dozen  logs  will 
be  placed,  following  each  other,  a  few  feet  apart,  on  the 
trough  (the  chute).  A  chain  is  fastened  to  the  rear  end  of 
the  hindermost  log.  This  chain  is  attached  to  a  single-tree 
fastened  to  a  horse's  harness.  The  horse  is  started.  This 
makes  the  hinder  log  strike  the  next  one,  this  bumps  into 
the  third  and  gives  it  a  start,  in  its  turn  it  bumps  the  fourth, 
the  fourth  the  fifth,  and  so  on,  until  the  whole  dozen  are 
in  motion.  Had  the  string  of  logs  been  fastened  together, 
the  horse  would  have  found  it  impossible  to  move  them,  but 
"  propelling  "  them  in  this  fashion  they  are  all  set  in  mo- 
tion, and  their  inertia  once  overcome  there  is  no  difficulty 
experienced  in  keeping  them  going. 

The  views  from  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge  are  varied  and  beau- 
tiful, one  in  particular  being  especially  enchanting.  Over 
the  Terminal  moraine,  across  the  hidden  face  of  Lake  Tahoe, 
the  eye  falls  upon  the  mountains  in  Nevada,  on  the  far-away 
eastern  side.  In  the  soft  light  of  evening  they  look  like 
fairy  mountains,  not  real  rocky  masses  of  gigantic,  rugged 
substance,  but  something  painted  upon  the  horizon  with  deli- 
cate fingers,  and  in  tints  and  shades  to  correspond,  for  they 
look  tenderer  and  sweeter,  gentler  and  lovelier  than  any- 
thing man  could  conceive  or  execute. 

The  owner  of  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge  is  Professor  William 
W.  Price,  a  graduate  of  Stanford  University,  who  first  came 
into  this  region  to  study  and  catch  special  Sierran  birds  and 
other  fauna  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  American 


246       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Museum  of  Natural  History,  and  the  British  Museum. 
Later,  when  he  founded  the  Agassiz  school  for  boys,  at  Au- 
burn, California,  he  established  Camp  Agassiz  near  Fallen 
Leaf  Lake,  in  a  grove  of  pines,  firs,  and  cedars.  Assisted 
by  other  university  men  he  made  of  this  an  ideal  open-air 
school  and  camp  for  boys.  They  were  taught  such  practi- 
cal things  as  to  take  care  of  themselves  in  the  mountains, 
find  a  trail,  or  go  to  a  given  spot  without  a  trail,  fish,  hunt, 
make  camp,  build  fires  in  a  rain-storm,  find  proper  shelter 
during  a  lightning-storm,  carry  a  pack,  pack  a  mule  or  burro, 
even  to  the  throwing  of  the  "  diamond  hitch,"  the  "  squaw 
hitch,"  and  the  "  square  "  or  other  packer's  especial  "  knots  " 
and  "  ties."  They  were  induced  to  climb  mountains,  row, 
swim,  "  ski,"  and  snow-slide,  and  all  were  taught  to  recog- 
nize at  sight  the  common  birds,  smaller  wild  animals,  trees, 
and  flowers.  Frequent  camping-out  trips  were  arranged 
for,  and  the  youngsters  thus  gained  health,  vigor  and  perma- 
nent strength  while  doing  what  they  all  enjoyed  doing. 

In  due  time  the  parents  wished  to  share  the  fun,  joy,  and 
out-of-door  experiences  of  their  youngsters;  then  the 
friends,  and  those  who  heard  about  them,  and  out  of  the  nu- 
merous requests  for  accommodations  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge  was 
born.  For  a  time  Mr.  Price  tried  an  ordinary  hotel  man- 
ager, but  the  peculiar  and  individualistic  needs  of  his  pe- 
culiar and  individualistic  camp  at  length  led  Mrs.  Price 
and  himself  to  take  the  complete  control.  From  that  time 
its  success  has  been   continuous. 

Mr,  Price  is  a  scientific  expert  upon  the  flora  (especially 
the  trees),  the  birds  and  the  four-footed  fauna  of  the  whole 
region,  and  his  readiness  and  willingness  to  communicate  his 
knowledge  to  his  guests  is  a  great  advantage  to  the  studious 
and  inquiring. 

Owing  to  the  demands  made  upon  his  time  by  the  man- 
agement of  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge  Mr.   Price  has  transferred 


FALLEN  LEAF  LAKE  AND  ITS  RESORTS      247 

his  school  into  other  hands,  and  has  given  up  the  Boys' 
Camp,  though  the  lads  are  still  welcome,  with  their  parents, 
as  regular  guests  at  the  Lodge. 

It  should  be  noted  that  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge  is  but  two 
miles  from  Glen  Alpine  Springs  and  that  all  that  is  said  of 
the  close  proximity  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the 
southern  end  of  the  Lake  Tahoe  region  to  Glen  Alpine,  ap- 
plies with  equal  force  (plus  the  two  miles)  to  Fallen  Leaf 
Lodge. 

CATHEDRAL  PARK  ON  FALLEN  LEAF  LAKE 

One  of  the  newest  of  the  Tahoe  region  resorts  is  that  of 
Cathedral  Park,  located  on  the  western  side  of  Fallen  Leaf 
Lake.  It  was  opened  in  the  latter  part  of  the  season  of 
1 91 2  by  Carl  Fluegge.  Everything  about  it  is  new,  from 
the  flooring  of  the  tents  to  the  fine  dining-room,  cottages  and 
stables.  A  special  road  has  been  constructed  on  the  west 
side  of  the  lake,  over  which  Cathedral  Park  stages  run  daily 
the  three  and  a  half  miles,  to  meet  every  steamer  during  the 
season  at  Tallac. 

Rising  directly  from  the  edge  of  the  lake,  surrounded  by 
majestic  trees,  protected  by  the  gigantic  height  of  Mt.  Tal- 
lac (9785  feet)  from  the  western  wands,  a  clear  open  view 
of  Fallen  Leaf  Lake  and  the  thousand-feet  high  lateral 
moraine  on  the  eastern  side  is  obtained ;  there  could  be  no 
better  location  for  such  a  resort. 

The  distinctive  features  of  Cathedral  Park  are  simplicity 
and  home-comforts,  with  special  advantages  for  hunting, 
fishing  and  camping  out.  For  ten  years  Mr.  Fluegge  has 
taken  out  some  of  the  most  distinguished  patrons  of  the 
Tahoe  region  in  his  capacity  as  expert  guide  and  huntsman. 
He  knows  every  trail  thoroughly  and  has  scaled  every  moun- 
tain of  the  surrounding  country.  He  know^s  the  habits  and 
haunts  of  bear,  deer,  and  other  game,  and  is  a  successful 


248      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

hunter  of  them,  as  well  as  of  grouse  and  quail.  His  office 
and  social-hall  bear  practical  evidence  of  his  prowess  and 
skill  in  the  mounted  heads  of  deer,  and  the  dressed  skins  of 
bear  that  he  has  shot.  He  is  also  an  expert  angler,  and  well 
acquainted  with  the  best  fishing  in  Granite,  Eagle,  the  Rock- 
Bound,  Gilmore  and  other  lakes,  as  well  as  those  closer  at 
hand.  There  are  twelve  such  lakes  within  easy  reach  of 
Cathedral  Park.  Fishing  and  hunting  are  his  hobbies  and 
delights,  hence  he  makes  a  thoroughly  competent,  because  in- 
terested, and  interesting  guide.  Nothing  pleases  him  more 
than  to  get  out  with  his  guests  and  assist  them  in  their 
angling  and  hunting.  To  aid  in  this  he  has  established  his 
own  permanent  camp  at  the  beautiful  Angora  Lakes,  four 
miles  from  Cathedral  Park,  which  is  placed  freely  at  the  dis- 
posal of  his  guests. 

Especial  arrangements  are  made  for  the  perfect  and  sat- 
isfactory accommodation  of  guests  who  desire  to  sleep  out  of 
doors.  Tents,  sleeping  porches  and  platforms  are  arranged 
with  a  view  to  the  strictest  privacy,  and  those  who  desire 
this  healthful  open-air  mode  of  life  can  nowhere  be  better 
accommodated  than  here.  As  Mark  Twain  has  said,  it  is  the 
"  open  air  "  sleeping  in  the  Lake  Tahoe  region  that  is  so 
beneficial.  Again  to  quote  him :  "  The  air  up  there  in  the 
clouds  is  very  pure  and  fine,  bracing  and  delicious.  And 
why  shouldn't  it  be?  —  it  is  the  same  the  angels  breathe.  I 
think  that  hardly  any  amount  of  fatigue  can  be  gathered  to- 
gether that  a  man  cannot  sleep  off  in  one  night  here.  Not 
under  a  roof,  but  under  the  sky."  Therefore  Cathedral 
Park  says  to  those  who  wish  to  breathe  the  same  air  as  the 
angels  while  they  are  yet  on  the  earth:  Come  to  us  and  we 
will  meet  your  reasonable  wishes  in  every  possible  way. 

The  presence  of  Mrs.  Fluegge,  who  is  associated  with  her 
husband  in  the  management,  guarantees  to  ladies,  whether 


PICTURESQUE  PALO  ALTO  LODGE  AT  LAKESIDE  PARK, 
LAKE  TAHOE 


■iiiL  LU.XG    WiiARi'-  AT   LAKESIDE   PARK.   LAKE   TAHOE 


AUTO.MU1JI1J-:   ROAD  AK()L'M>  CA\  K   Ki  H  K,   I.AKIC  TAIIOE 


FALLEN  LEAF  LAKE  AND  ITS  RESORTS       249 

unaccompanied,  or  with  their  families,  the  best  of  care,  and 
the  former  are  especially  invited  to  come  and  test  the  home- 
like qualities  of  the  place. 

The  water  supply  of  Cathedral  Park  is  gained  from  its 
own  springs,  on  the  mountain  side  above  the  resort.  It  is 
piped  down  to  every  tent  or  cottage  and  the  supply  is  super- 
abundant. Fish  are  caught  almost  daily  on  the  landing  in 
front  of  the  hotel.  Fallen  Leaf  is  an  ideal  spot  for  row- 
ing, canoeing,  and  launch  rides,  and  the  hotel  owns  its  own 
launch  in  which  parties  are  regularly  taken  around  the  lake. 
During  the  summer  season  bathing  is  as  delightful  here 
as  in  any  of  the  seaside  resorts  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific, 
and  almost  every  one  takes  a  plunge  daily. 

A  camp-fire  is  built  every  night,  where  singing,  story- 
telling, and  open  air  amusements  of  an  impromptu  nature 
are  indulged  in  to  one's  heart's  content,  though  visitors  are 
all  expected  to  remember  the  rights  of  others  and  not  keep 
too  late  hours. 

Informal  dances  are  indulged  in  occasionally  and  every- 
thing is  done  to  promote  the  comfort,  pleasure  and  enjoy- 
ment of  the  guests  that  earnest  desire,  constant  watchful- 
ness and   long  experience  can  suggest. 

The  table  is  simple  and  homelike,  but  abundant,  well- 
served  and  satisfactory.  This  department  is  entirely  under 
the  control  of  Mrs.  Fluegge,  who  never  employs  any  other 
than  white  help  in  the  kitchen.  Fresh  fruit  and  vegetables, 
lake  trout  and  game  in  season,  fresh  milk  and  cream,  with 
everything  of  the  best  that  the  markets  afford,  are  none  too 
good  for  the  guests  at  Cathedral  Park. 

Unlike  most  of  the  Lake  Tahoe  resorts,  it  keeps  open 
throughout  the  whole  year,  and  is  managed  with  but  one 
idea,  viz.,  to  give  absolute  and  complete  satisfaction  to  all 
its  guests. 


250      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Its  rates  are  reasonable,  and  especial  prices  are  given  to 
children  under  ten  years  of  age  and  to  families  who  wish 
to  stay  for  any  length  of  time. 

The  short  trail  to  Mount  Tallac  rises  directly  from  Ca- 
thedral Park,  and  all  that  has  been  said  of  the  close  prox- 
imity of  Glen  Alpine  and  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge  to  the  most 
interesting  peaks,  lakes,  etc.,  of  the  Tahoe  region  applies 
with  equal  force  to  Cathedral  Park,  plus  the  short  addi- 
tional distance,  which  is  something  less  than  a  mile. 

Mr.  Fluegge  will  be  glad  to  correspond  with  those  con- 
templating a  visit  to  Cathedral  Park,  especially  should  they 
desire  his  services  for  hunting,  fishing,  or  camping-out  trips 
of  a  few  days  or  a  month's  duration.  The  address  is  Ca- 
thedral Park,  Tallac  P.  O.,  Lake  Tahoe,  California. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

LAKESIDE    PARK 

SITUATED  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Tahoe  and  at  the 
same  time  on  the  great  Lincoln  Highway  stretching 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, —  a  division  of  the 
State  Automobile  Highway  reaching  from  Sacramento, 
California,  to  Carson  City,  Nevada,  via  Placerville,  Lake- 
side Park  is  readily  reached  by  travelers  from  every  direc- 
tion, whether  they  come  by  steamer,  buggy,  or  automobile. 
The  Lakeside  Park  hotel  was  established  in  1892  and 
has  an  enviable  reputation.  It  consists  of  hotel,  with  ad- 
jacent cottages  and  tents,  comfortably  furnished  and 
equipped  with  every  healthful  necessity.  Here  surrounded 
by  beautiful  trees,  that  sing  sweet  songs  to  the  touch  of  the 
winds,  drinking  in  health  and  vigor  from  their  balsamic 
odors,  enjoying  the  invigorating  sunshine  and  the  purifying 
breezes  coming  from  mountain,  forest  and  Lake,  swimming 
in  the  Lake,  rowing,  canoeing,  climbing  mountain  trails,  ex- 
ploring rocky  and  wooded  canyons,  fishing,  hunting,  bot- 
anizing, studying  geology  in  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
volumes  Nature  has  ever  written,  sleeping  out-of-doors  un- 
der the  trees  and  the  glowing  stars  after  being  lulled  to 
rest  by  the  soothing  lappings  of  the  gentle  waves  upon  the 
beach  —  who  can  conceive  a  more  ideal  vacation-time  than 
this. 

Unlike  many  parts  of  Lake  Tahoe,  Lakeside  Park  possesses 
a  fine  stretch  of  beautiful,  clean,  sandy  beach.  There  are 
no  rocks,  deep  holes,  tide  or  undertow.     Children  can  wade, 

251 


252       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

bathe  or  swim  in  perfect  safety  as  the  shore  gradually  slopes 
into  deeper  water. 

The  whole  settlement  is  abundantly  supplied  with  pur- 
est spring  water  which  is  piped  down  from  its  source  high 
on  the  mountain  slopes  to  the  south.  The  hotel  is  fully 
equipped  with  hot  and  cold  water  for  baths  and  all  other 
needed  purposes,  and  there  is  a  good  store,  well  stocked  liv- 
ery stable,  row-boats,  steam  laundry  and  home  dairy. 

The  store  carries  a  very  complete  line  of  provisions  and 
supplies,  fresh  fruits,  vegetables,  meats,  dairy-produce,  ice, 
hay,  grain,  lumber,  shingles,  stove-wood,  paints,  gasoline  — 
in  fact,  everything  that  is  likely  to  be  in  demand  in  such  a 
community.  Camp-fire  wood  is  abundant  and  free  to  patrons. 
This  is  particularly  advantageous  for  those  who  wish  to 
tent  and  "  board  themselves."  Housekeeping  tents  are  pro- 
vided, on  platforms  in  the  grove,  at  reasonable  rates,  and  the 
hotel  owns  its  pasture  in  which  the  horses  of  patrons  are 
cared  for  free  of  charge. 

The  location  of  Lakeside  Park  in  relation  to  Lake  Tahoe 
is  peculiarly  advantageous  in  that  it  affords  daily  opportunity 
for  driving,  horseback-riding  or  walking  directly  along  the 
shore  for  miles.  Indeed  the  twelve  mile  drive  to  Glenbrook 
is  one  of  the  noted  drives  of  the  world,  taking  in  the  cele- 
brated Cave  Rock,  and  giving  the  widest  possible  outlooks 
of  the  whole  expanse  of  the  Lake. 

Patrons  of  the  hotel  or  camps  are  assured  that  there  are 
no  rattlesnakes,  fleas,  malaria,  fogs,  or  poison  oak.  The 
character  and  tone  of  the  place  will  also  be  recognized  when 
it  is  known  that  saloons  and  gambling  resorts  are  absolutely 
prohibited  in  the  residential  tract. 

The  most  majestic  of  all  the  mountains  of  Lake  Tahoe 
are  closely  adjacent  to  Lakeside  Park.  Mt.  Sinclair,  9500 
feet,  rises  immediately  from  the  eastern  boundary,  whilst 
Monument  Peak,  Mounts  Freel,  Job,  and  Job's  Sister,  rang- 


LAKESIDE  PARK  253 

ing  from  10,000  to  11,200  feet  above  sea  level  are  close  by. 
Such  near  proximity  to  these  mountains  gives  unequalled 
opportunities  for  tramping,  riding  and  driving  through  and 
over  marvelous  diversity  of  hill,  valley,  woodland,  canyon 
and  mountain.  Scores  of  miles  of  mountain  trails  remain 
to  be  thoroughly  explored  and  to  the  hunter  these  highest 
mountains  are  the  most  alluring  spots  of  the  whole  Tahoe 
Region. 

Yet  while  these  mountains  are  close  by  Lakeside  Park 
is  near  enough  to  Fallen  Leaf  Lake,  Glen  Alpine  Springs 
and  Desolation  Valley  to  give  fullest  opportunity  for  trips 
to  these  noted  spots  and  their  adjacent  attractions. 

In  addition  it  allows  ready  incursions  into  Nevada,  where 
the  prehistoric  footprints  at  Carson  City,  the  marvelous 
Steamboat  Springs,  and  the  world-famed  mines  and  Sutro 
Tunnel  of  Virginia  City  have  been  a  lure  for  many  thou- 
sands during  the  past  decades.  It  is  also  near  to  Hope 
Valley  and  the  peak  on  which  Fremont  climbed  when,  in 
1844,  he  discovered  and  first  described  Lake  Tahoe,  and  is 
the  natural  stopping-place  for  those  who  wish  to  go  over  the 
road  the  Pathfinder  made,  accompanied  by  Kit  Carson,  his 
guide  and  scout,  whose  name  is  retained  in  Carson  City, 
Carson  Tree,  Carson  Valley  and  Carson  Canyon,  all  of  which 
are  within  a  day's  easy  ride. 

PRIVATE   RESIDENCES   AT   LAKESIDE    PARK 

To  meet  the  ever-increasing  demand  for  lots  on  which 
to  build  summer  homes  on  Lake  Tahoe  the  Lakeside  Park 
Company  has  set  aside  a  limited  and  desirable  portion  of 
its  large  property  on  the  southeasterly  shore  of  Lake  Tahoe 
for  cottages  and  log  cabins,  bungalows  and  lodges,  or  acre 
tracts  for  chalets  afi^J.  villas.  Already  quite  a  number  have 
availed  themselves  of  this  privilege  and  a  colony  of  beauti- 
ful homes  is  being  established.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hill,  with  a 


254      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

keen  eye  for  the  appropriate,  and  at  the  same  time  wishful 
to  show  how  a  most  perfect  bungalow  can  be  constructed  at  a 
remarkably  low  price,  have  planned  and  erected  several 
most  attractive  "  specimens  "  or  "  models,"  at  prices  rang- 
ing from  $450  to  $1000  and  over.  The  fact  that  the  tract 
is  so  located  in  an  actual,  not  merely  a  nominal,  wooded 
park,  where  pines,  firs,  tamaracks  and  other  Sierran  trees 
abound,  allow  the  proprietors  to  offer  fine  logs  for  cabins 
and  rustic-work  in  almost  unlimited  quantities,  and  in  the 
granite-ribbed  mountains  close  by  is  a  quarry  from  which 
rock  for  foundations,  chimneys  and  open  fireplaces  may  be 
taken  without  stint.  These  are  great  advantages  not  to  be 
ignored  by  those  who  desire  to  build,  and  those  who  are 
first  on  the  scene  naturally  will  be  accorded  the  first  choice 
both  of  lots  and  material. 

There  is  but  one  Lake  Tahoe  in  America,  and  as  the 
men  of  California  and  Nevada  cities  find  more  time  for 
leisure  it  will  not  be  many  years  before  every  available  spot 
will  be  purchased  and  summer  residences  abound,  just  as  is 
the  case  in  the  noted  eastern  lakes,  or  those  near  to  such  cities 
as  Minneapolis,  etc.,  in  the  middle  west. 

In  setting  aside  this  residential  section  at  Lakeside  Park 
the  owners  have  planned  with  far-sighted  and  generous 
liberality.  The  Lake  frontage  is  reserved  for  general  use 
of  the  hotel  guests  and  cottage  community,  so  there  will  be 
no  conflict  regarding  privileges  of  boating,  bathing,  fishing, 
and  "  rest  cure  "  on  the  beach.  Another  wise  provision  is 
that  a  generous  portion  of  the  amounts  received  from  early 
sales  of  lots  is  being  devoted  to  general  improvements  that 
are  for  mutual  benefit ;  such  as  the  extension  of  roads,  paths, 
trails  and  water-pipes,  a  substantial  breakwater  for  better 
protection  of  launches  and  boats,  larger  dancing-pavilion  or 
platform,  automobile  garage,  more  dressing  rooms  for  bath- 
ers, etc. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

GLEN  BROOK   AND    MARLETTE    LAKE 

IN  Chapter  XVI  the  history  of  Glenbrook  is  given  in 
some  detail.  It  is  now,  however,  converted  into  a  pleas- 
ure resort  especially  popular  with  residents  of  Nevada, 
and  largely  used  by  automobiles  crossing  the  Sierras  and 
passing  around  Lake  Tahoe.  *- 

The  Inn,  and  its  veranda  overlooking  the  Lake,  Is  built 
with  an  eye  to  comfort  and  convenience.  Every  need  for 
pleasure  and  recreation  is  arranged  for.  For  those  who 
enjoy  privacy,  cosy  cottages  are  provided,  around  which  beau- 
tiful wild  flowers  grow  in  wonderful  profusion.  The  guests 
here  are  especially  favored  in  that  the  Inn  has  its  own  ranch, 
dairy,  poultry  farm,  fruit  orchard  and  vegetable  garden. 
The  table,  therefore,  is  abundantly  provided,  and  everything 
is  of  known  quality  and  brought  in  fresh  daily. 

Glenbrook  Inn  makes  no  pretense  to  be  a  fashionable 
resort.  It  especially  invites  those  individuals  and  families 
who  wish  to  be  free  from  the  exhausting  "  frivolities  of 
fashion,"  to  come  and  enjoy  to  the  full  Nature's  simple 
charms,  regardless  of  the  city's  conventions  as  to  dress  and 
fashion.  Rest  and  recreation,  amusement  and  recuperation 
are  the  key-notes.  Simplicity  of  life,  abundance  of  sleep, 
sufficiency  of  good  food,  tastefully  served,  the  chief  hours  of 
the  day  spent  in  the  open  air,  fishing,  boating,  swimming, 
trail-climbing,  horseback-riding,  driving  or  automobiling, — 
these  bring  health,  renewed  energy  and  the  joy  of  life. 

The  specific  pleasures  provided  at  Glenbrook  are  varied. 

255 


256      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

It  is  confessedly  the  best  place  for  fishing  on  the  Lake. 
During  the  season  the  fishermen  from  all  the  resorts  at  the 
south  end  of  the  Lake  bring  their  patrons  over  in  this  di- 
rection. The  Inn  has  its  own  fleet  of  gasoline  launches 
and  row  boats,  with  experienced  men  to  handle  them,  and 
it  supplies  fishing-tackle  free,  but  those  who  wish  to  use  the 
rod  must  bring  that  with  them.  As  is  explained  in  the  chap- 
ter on  fishing  the  trout  of  Lake  Tahoe  are  taken  both  by  rod 
and  "  jerk-line "  trolling.  Near  Glenbrook,  however,  the 
rod  can  be  used  to  greater  advantage  than  anywhere  else, 
and  catches  of  from  one-half  to  thirty  pounds  are  of  daily 
occurrence. 

While  promiscuous  fishing  is  not  allowed  now  in  the 
famous  Marlette  Lake,  eight  miles  away,  the  patrons  of 
Glenbrook  Inn  can  always  secure  permits,  without  any  vex- 
atious inquiries  or  delays,  and  there  an  abundance  of  gamey 
trout  of  various  species  are  caught. 

The  bathing  facilities  here  are  exceptionally  good.  There 
is  a  long  stretch  of  sandy  beach,  which  extends  far  out  into 
the  water,  thus  ensuring  both  warmth  and  safety  to  children 
as  well  as  adults. 

In  mountain  and  trail  climbing  Glenbrook  has  a  field  all 
its  own.  The  ride  or  drive  to  Marlette  Lake  is  a  beautiful 
one,  and  the  climb  to  Marlette  Peak  not  arduous.  The 
chief  mountain  peaks  easily  reached  from  Glenbrook  are  Ehi- 
bliss,  Edith,  and  Genoa  Peaks,  which  not  only  afford  the 
same  wonderful  and  entrancing  views  of  Lake  Tahoe  that 
one  gains  from  Frcel's,  Mt.  Tallac,  Ellis  and  Watson's 
Peaks,  but  in  addition  lay  before  the  entranced  vision  the 
wonderful  Carson  Valley,  with  Mt.  Davidson  and  other  his- 
toric peaks  on  the  eastern  horizon. 

The  drive  along  the  shore  by  the  famous  Cave  Rock  to 
Lakeside  Park  or  Tallac  is  one  that  can  be  enjoyed  daily, 
and  for  those  who  like  driving  through  and  over  tree-clad 


SUNSET  AT  GLEN  BROOK,  LAKE  TAHOE 


>      ll  1       ^       1 

CARN ELIAN  BAY,  LAKE  TAllOE 


(■(ri'TACE   U 


XERLUOKlNt;   CAKXELIAN    RAY,    l.AKK   TA1I01-: 


GLENBROOK  AND  MARLETTE  LAKE       257 

hills,  surrounded  by  majestic  mountains,  the  drive  over  the 
Carson  road  is  enchanting. 

It  is  at  Glenbrook  that  the  famous  Shakspere  head  is  to 
be  seen  graphically  described  by  John  Vance  Cheney,  and 
quoted  elsewhere  (Chap.  XVI). 

TO  MARLETTE  LAKE  FROM  GLENBROOK 

Marlette  Lake  and  Peak  are  two  of  the  attractive  features 
to  visitors  at  Glenbrook  Inn.  The  trip  can  be  made  in  a 
little  over  two  hours,  and  as  on  the  return  it  is  down  hill 
nearly  all  the  way,  the  return  trip  takes  a  little  less. 

Leaving  Glenbrook  on  the  excellently  kept  macadamized 
road  over  which  Hank  Monk  used  to  drive  stage  from 
Carson  City,  the  eyes  of  the  traveler  are  constantly  observing 
new  and  charming  features  in  the  mountain  landscape.  The 
Lake  with  its  peculiar  attractions  is  left  entirely  behind,  with 
not  another  glimpse  of  it  until  we  stand  on  the  flume  at  Lake 
Marlette.  Hence  it  is  a  complete  change  of  scenery,  for 
now  we  are  looking  ahead  to  tree-clad  summits  where  eagles 
soar  and  the  sky  shines  blue. 

About  two  and  a  half  miles  out  we  come  to  Spooner's, 
once  an  active,  bustling,  roadside  hotel,  where  in  the  lumber- 
ing and  mining  days  teams  lined  the  road  four,  six  and  eight 
deep.  Now,  nothing  but  a  ramshackle  old  building  remains 
to  tell  of  its  former  greatness.  Here  we  made  a  sharp  turn 
to  the  left,  leaving  the  main  road  and  taking  the  special  Mar- 
lette Lake  road.  We  cross  the  grade  of  the  abandoned  rail- 
way —  the  rails,  engines  and  equipment  of  which  are  now 
operating  between  Truckee  and  Tahoe  —  see  in  the  distance 
the  tunnel  through  which  the  trains  used  to  take  the  lumber, 
and  notice  on  the  hill-sides  the  lines  of  the  old  flumes  which 
used  to  convey  the  water  to  the  reservoir  on  the  other  side  of 
the  tunnel,  or  bring  water  and  lumber  ready  to  be  sent  on 
the  further  journey  down  to  Carson  City. 


258      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

My  driver  was  in  a  reflective  mood,  and  as  he  pointed 
these  things  out  to  me,  made  some  sage  and  pertinent  re- 
marks about  the  peculiar  features  of  some  industries  which 
required  large  expenditures  to  operate,  all  of  which  were  use- 
less in  a  comparatively  short  time.  Mainly  uphill  the  road 
continues  through  groves  of  cottonwood,  by  logged-over 
mountain  slopes  and  sheep-inhabited  meadows  until  the  di- 
vide is  reached.  Here  a  very  rapid  down  hill  speedily 
brings  us  to  the  south  edge  of  Marlette  Lake.  Skirting  the 
southern  end  we  follow  the  road  to  the  caretaker's  house, 
tie  our  horses,  and  walk  down  to  the  dam,  and  then  on  the 
flume  or  by  its  side  to  a  point  overlooking  Lake  Tahoe,  from 
which  a  marvelously  expansive  view  is  to  be  obtained.  We 
return  now  to  Marlette  and  while  drinking  a  cup  of  coffee 
prepared  for  us  by  the  hospitable  caretaker,  glean  the  fol- 
lowing facts  in  regard  to  the  history  and  uses  of  Marlette 
Lake. 

Marlette  is  an  artificial  lake,  fifteen  hundred  feet  above 
the  level  of  Lake  Tahoe,  and  about  three  miles  from  its 
easterly  shore.  Its  waters  are  conveyed  by  tunnel,  flume,  etc., 
over  the  mountains,  the  Washoe  Valley  and  up  the  mountain 
again  to  Virginia  City.  Originally  the  only  supply  of  water 
available  for  Virginia  City  was  from  a  few  springs  and  min- 
ing tunnels.  This  supply  soon  became  insufficient  and  many 
tunnels  were  run  into  hills  both  north  and  south  from  Vir- 
ginia for  the  express  purpose  of  tapping  water.  These  soon 
failed  and  it  became  necessary  to  look  for  a  permanent  sup- 
ply to  the  main  range  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  twenty-five  or 
more  miles  away.  Accordingly  the  Virginia  and  Gold  Hill 
Water  Company  called  upon  Mr.  Hermann  Schussler,  the 
engineer  under  whose  supervision  the  Spring  Valley  Water 
Works  of  San  Francisco  were  constructed.  After  a  careful 
survey  of  the  ground  he  found  water  at  Hobart  Creek,  in 
the  mountains  on  the  east  side  of  Lake  Tahoe,  and  in  the 


GLENBROOK  AND  MARLETTE  LAKE       259 

spring  of  1872,  received  orders  to  go  ahead  and  install  a  water 
system.  He  ordered  pipe  made  to  fit  every  portion  of  the 
route.  It  had  to  pass  across  the  deep  depression  of  Washoe 
Valley  with  water  at  a  perpendicular  pressure  of  1720  feet, 
equivalent  to  800  pounds  to  the  square  inch. 

The  first  operations  were  so  successful  that  as  needs  grew 
the  supply  flume  was  extended  eight  and  a  half  miles  to 
Marlette  Lake,  thus  making  the  total  distance  to  Virginia 
City  thirty-one  and  a  half  miles.  This  Lake  was  named 
after  S.  H.  Marlette,  formerly  Surveyor  General  of  Ne- 
vada, who  was  associated  with  W.  S.  Hobart,  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, the  owner  of  the  land  and  one  of  the  original  pro- 
jectors of  the  Water  Company,  The  site  was  a  natural 
basin,  the  dam  of  which  had  been  broken  down  or  eroded 
centuries  ago.  A  dam  was  built  in  1875,  and  later  raised 
eleven  feet  higher  so  as  to  afford  more  storage  capacity. 
The  area  of  the  lake  is  now  about  600  acres  (before  the 
heightening  of  the  dam  it  was  300  acres),  and  its  storage 
capacity  is  about  two  billion  gallons. 

When  the  supply  was  enlarged  a  second  pipe  was  laid 
alongside  the  first  with  an  equal  capacity,  each  being  able  to 
convey  2,200,000  gallons  every  twenty-four  hours.  A  third 
pipe  was  installed  later.  The  second  and  third  pipes  were 
laid  by  the  late  Captain  J.  B.  Overton,  who  was  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Company  for  over  thirty-two  years.  Cap- 
tain Overton  also  extended  the  flume  lines,  constructed  the 
tunnel  through  the  mountain  ridge,  built  the  Marlette  Lake 
dam   and   made  many  other   improvements  and   extensions. 

On  leaving  Marlette  Lake  through  an  opening  at  the  lower 
portion  of  the  dam  the  water  is  conducted  five  miles  in  a 
covered  flume  and  thence  through  a  tunnel  four  thousand 
feet  long  through  the  summit  of  the  dividing  ridge  or  rim 
of  the  Tahoe  basin  to  its  easterly  side.  From  this  point  it  is 
again  conducted  through  covered  flumes,  together  with  water 


26o      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

from  Hobart  Creek  and  other  streams,  to  the  Intake  of  the 
pipes  across  Washoe  Valley.  These  pipes  are  three  in  num- 
ber, two  twelve  inch  and  one  ten  inch.  The  difference  in 
elevation  between  the  inlet  and  discharge  from  No.  i  and 
No.  2  pipes  is  465  feet.  The  difference  in  elevation  between 
the  inlet  and  discharge  of  No.  3  pipe  is  565  feet.  The  pipes 
are  laid  across  Washoe  Valley  in  the  form  of  inverted 
syphons.  At  the  lowest  point  in  the  valley,  the  perpendicu- 
lar pressure  is  1720  feet  on  No.  i  and  No.  2  pipes  and  1820 
feet  on  No.  3  pipe.  The  pipe  lines  go  up  and  down  nine 
canyons  in  their  course  across  the  Valley.  Each  line  is 
something  over  seven  miles  in  length.  The  pressure  gauges 
at  Lake  View,  the  point  of  heaviest  pressure,  register  820 
lbs.  on  No.  I  and  No.  2  pipes  when  filled,  and  910  lbs,  on 
No.  3  pipe  when  filled. 

When  this  work  was  first  contemplated  many  hydraulic 
engineers  condemned  the  project  as  impossible,  as  never  be- 
fore had  water  been  carried  so  far  under  such  pressure. 
But  the  fact  that  the  first  pipes  laid  by  Engineer  Schussler 
are  still  in  active  use  demonstrates  the  scientific  and  practi- 
cal knowledge  and  skill  with  which  he  attacked  the  problem. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  to  note  that,  prior  to  the  building 
of  the  dam,  part  of  the  water  was  used  for  "  fluming  "  lum- 
ber and  wood  to  Lake  View,  and  also  for  a  short  period  of 
time  after  the  dam  was  constructed.  But  for  the  past 
twenty  years  this  practice  has  been  discontinued,  the  water 
being  solely  for  the  supply  of  Virginia  City.  The  total 
cost  of  the  work  was  about  $3,500,000.  The  Company 
is  now  under  the  immediate  and  personal  supervision  of 
James  M.  Leonard.  The  flumes  and  pipe-lines  have  re- 
cently been  rebuilt  and  repaired  where  necessary  so  that  the 
entire  system  is  in  excellent  condition  and  a.  high  state  of  effi- 
ciency. 


GLENBROOK  AND  MARLETTE  LAKE       261 

DUBLISS,    EDITH    AND   GENOA    PEAKS 

The  ride  to  these  three  peaks  can  easily  be  made  in  a 
day,  and  though  they  are  all  in  reasonably  close  proximity, 
there  are  differences  enough  in  their  respective  outloo'ks  to 
make  a  visit  to  each  of  them  enjoyable  and  profitable.  With 
a  good  saddle-horse  from  the  Glenbrook  stables,  a  guide,  and 
a  lunch  tied  to  the  saddle,  one  may  start  out  confident  that 
a  most  delightful  scenic  trip  is  before  him.  The  first  hour's 
riding  is  over  the  rocky  and  tree-clad  slopes,  far  wilder  and 
more  rugged  than  one  would  imagine,  rudely  bordering  the 
Lake  southwards.  Then  turning  east,  hills  and  vales,  flow- 
ery meads  and  dainty  native  nurseries  of  pines,  firs  and  hem- 
locks enchant  the  eye.  Reaching  the  summit  of  any  one  of 
the  peaks,  a  wide  expanse  of  Lake  is  offered,  extending  to 
the  surrounding  mountains  north,  south  and  west,  but  on 
Genoa  Peak  an  additional  charm  is  found  in  the  close  prox- 
imity of  the  Nevada  Valley,  and  mountains  to  the  eastward. 
The  contrast  between  the  richly  clad  Sierras  and  the  ap- 
parently unclothed,  volcanic  Nevada  mountains  is  remark- 
able. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

CARNELIAN    BAY   AND   TAHOE    COUNTRY    CLUB 

ON  making  the  circuit  of  the  Lake  the  last  stopping- 
place  on  the  trip  starting  south,  or  the  first  when 
starting  north  and  east,  is  Carnelian  Bay.  This 
is  a  new  settlement  rapidly  coming  into  prominence  because 
of  the  number  of  cottages  and  bungalows  erected  by  their 
owners  on  their  own  lots.  From  early  until  late  in  the 
seasons  of  19 13  and  19 14  the  sounds  of  the  saw  and  ham- 
mer were  seldom  still.  The  result  is  the  growth  of  quite  a 
summer  settlement.  Easy  of  access,  either  by  train  and 
steamer  from  Truckee,  or  by  direct  wagon  or  auto  road  via 
Truckee  or  the  new  boulevard  from  the  south  end  of  the 
Lake,  Carnelian  Bay  attracts  the  real  home-seeker.  It  has 
been  the  first  section  to  fully  realize  what  John  LeConte 
has  so  ably  set  forth  in  another  chapter  on  Tahoe  as  a  Sum- 
mer Residence.  With  the  completion  of  the  state  highway 
around  Lake  Tahoe  and  the  projected  automobile  route  from 
Reno  and  Carson  City,  Carnelian  Bay  will  be  adjacent  to 
the  main  arteries  of  travel.  The  proposed  link  of  the  Lin- 
coln Highway  around  the  north  shore  of  the  Lake  will  put 
Carnelian  Bay  directly  on  the  great  international  auto  road. 
The  beauties  of  Lake  Tahoe  can  hardly  be  magnified  to 
the  people  of  the  West.  Those  who  have  once  viewed  its 
wonders  and  its  magnificence,  who  have  for  a  season  breathed 
its  invigorating  and  stimulating  atmosphere,  who  have  caught 
the  wily  trout  which  abound  in  its  waters,  who  have  sailed, 
or  rowed,  or  motor-boated  over  its  indigo-blue  surface,  carry 

262 


CARNELIAN  BAY  263 

In  memory  pictures  in  comparison  with  which  any  word-pic- 
ture would  be  inadequate  and  incomplete. 

Hence  the  projectors  of  Carnelian  Bay  struck  a  popular 
note  when,  out  of  their  81 -acre  tract,  they  put  on  sale  con- 
venient-sized lots.  Of  these  75  were  purchased  almost  im- 
mediately, and  by  19 14  there  were  over  45  homes,  large  and 
small,  already  erected.  Every  lot  was  sold  to  a  purchaser 
who  expressed  his  definite  intention  of  speedily  erecting  a 
house,  cottage  or  bungalow  for  his  own  use.  Hence  the 
community  is  of  a  selected  class  into  which  one  may  come 
with  confidence  and  assurance  of  congenial  associations. 

While  there  is  no  hotel  at  present  there  are  several  cot- 
tages and  bungalows  especially  erected  for  rent  to  transient 
guests,  and  a  good  store,  together  with  its  close  proximity 
to  Tahoe  City  and  Tahoe  Tavern,  render  a  summer  vacation 
here  one  of  comfort,  pleasure  and  perfect  enjoyment. 

PROJECTED  TAHOE   COUNTRY   CLUB   AT   CARNELIAN 

The  increasing  need  exists  among  those  who  are  familiar 
with  the  beauties  and  advantages  of  Lake  Tahoe  as  a  summer 
residence  resort  for  accommodations  for  families  or  tran- 
sients where  the  usual  comforts  of  home  may  be  obtained  at 
a  cost  not  prohibitive  to  the  family  of  ordinary  means.  Last 
year  no  less  than  80,000  persons  visited  Lake  Tahoe.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  this  number  will  increase  annually,  particu- 
larly with  added  accommodations  at  the  Lake  and  with  better 
facilities  for  automobile  travel.  The  proximity  of  Lake  Ta- 
hoe to  the  coast  cities  and  the  cities  of  the  Sierras  and  the 
Middle  West  makes  it  at  once  attractive  to  the  business  man 
who  desires  to  spend  his  summer  vacation  where  the  family 
is  located  for  the  summer  months. 

The  Tahoe  Country  Club  is  designed  to  meet  the  need. 
The  incorporators  have  taken  over  in  fee  simple  a  beauti- 
ful tract  embracing  about  1500  feet  of  the  beach  at  Carnelian 


264       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Bay,  California,  perhaps  the  most  attractive  site  on  Lake  Ta- 
hoe.  It  commands  a  view  of  the  entire  length  of  the  Lake, 
looking  toward  the  south,  and  embracing  a  magnificent  pano- 
ramic view  of  the  mountains  beyond.  This  site  contains  ap- 
proximately nine  acres,  and  includes  a  natural  inland  harbor, 
making  off  from  a  protected  bay.  The  beach  is  shallow,  of 
clean  sand,  sloping  down  from  easy  terraces  beautified  by 
shade  trees  and  lawns. 

The  plan  of  organization  of  the  Tahoe  Country  Club  is 
cooperative.  Its  benefits  are  to  be  shared  by  its  members, 
their  families,  and  such  of  their  friends  as  they  may  invite 
to  be  guests  of  the  club.  The  properties  taken  over  by  the 
incorporation,  including  the  1500  feet  of  beach  front,  harbor, 
wharf,  and  a  system  of  water  works  already  installed,  to- 
gether with  the  perpetual  title  to  the  water  rights,  is  con- 
servatively appraised  at  $30,000.  This  is  held  in  fee,  free 
from  incumbrance. 

The  charter-  or  organizing-members  of  the  club  will  be 
the  investors  in  the  bonds  issued  and  secured  on  the  real  es- 
tate taken  over  by  the  incorporation.  This  bond  issue,  the 
redemption  of  which  will  be  guaranteed  by  first  mortgage 
on  the  properties,  will  be  for  $20,000.  These  will  be  in  de- 
nominations of  $100  each,  bearing  six  per  cent,  interest  after 
two  years  from  June  i,  19 14,  and  will  be  redeemable,  at  the 
option  of  the  mortgagor,  at  any  regular  annual  interest 
period  on  or  after  five  years  from  the  date  of  issue.  They 
will  be  payable  in  fifteen  years. 

Each  original  bond  purchaser  becomes  a  charter  life  mem- 
ber of  the  club,  entitled,  without  the  payment  of  annual  dues 
or  other  assessments,  to  the  privileges  and  benefits  offered. 
These,  briefly,  aside  from  the  natural  advantages  of  location, 
scenery,  etc.,  are  an  assured  congenial  environment,  known 
associations  (not  always  a  possibility  in  a  public  summer  ho- 
tel), the  absence  of  every  possible  unpleasant  influence,  op- 


7  r^i*^  fci^":^' 


>'^ 


v.'V'^J'V^ 


v*^^. 


\ 


LAL'.NLli    luWi.XG   Li„iAl  S   oL  I     Id    I  111:   I'ISIU.XG   GKlJLWD.S. 
LAKE  TAIIOE 


AN   EAKLV   MUKMXG  CATCH,  TAllUE  TKUUT,   LAKE  TAUUE 


CARNELIAN  BAY  265 

portunities  for  fishing,  boating,  tennis,  golf  and  other  out- 
door sports,  and  first-class  accommodations  at  a  cost  far  be- 
low that  charged  at  regular  high-class  summer  hotels. 

The  proceeds  of  the  bond  issue  are  to  be  devoted  to  the 
erection  of  the  first  unit  of  the  club's  buildings,  consisting 
of  the  club  house  proper,  and  probably  six  four-room  cottages 
adjacent.  Thus  the  value  of  the  real  estate  securing  the 
bonds  vi^ill  at  once  be  enhanced  virtually  to  the  full  extent 
of  the  investment  made  by  the  charter  members. 

With  the  initial  buildings  assured  and  in  process  of  erec- 
tion, the  membership  and  patronage  of  the  club  vi^ill  be  aug- 
mented by  extending  the  privileges  of  the  organization  to 
non-investors,  who  will  be  enrolled  upon  payment  of  a  fixed 
membership  charge.  These  associate  members,  like  the  char- 
ter members,  will  enjoy  the  privileges  offered  for  themselves 
and  their  families  and  for  such  of  their  friends  as  they  may 
desire  to  recommend,  and  for  whom  limited-period  guest- 
cards  are  requested. 

With  a  membership  so  broadly  scattered  as  will  be  the 
membership  of  this  club,  community  control  of  its  affairs 
would  be  impracticable,  if  not  impossible.  It  has  been  de- 
cided, therefore,  to  vest  the  supervisory  control  of  the  club 
in  a  self-perpetuating  advisory  board,  composed  of  many  of 
the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Nevada  and  California. 

The  plan  proposed  is  a  feasible  and  practicable  one,  and 
one  that  ought  to  appeal  to  nature  lovers  who  desire  just 
such  opportunities  as  it  will  afford  on  Lake  Tahoe.  The 
president  of  the  company  and  the  directing  genius  who  has 
made  Carnelian  Bay  possible  is  L.  P.  Delano,  of  Reno,  Ne- 
vada, to  whom  all  requests  for  further  particulars  regard- 
ing the  Tahoe  Country  Club,  or  of  Carnelian  Bay  should 
be  addressed. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

FISHING   IN    THE    LAKES   OF   THE   TAHOE   REGION 

FISHING  in  Lake  Tahoe,  and  the  other  lakes  of  the 
region  is  a  pleasure  and  a  recreation  as  well  as  an  art 
and  a  science.  There  are  laymen,  tyros,  neophytes, 
proficients  and  artists.  The  real  fraternity  has  passes,  catch- 
words, grips  and  signals  to  which  outsiders  seek  to  "  catch 
on  "  in  vain. 

The  chief  native  trout  of  Lake  Tahoe  is  locally  known  as 
the  **  cut-throat,"  because  of  a  brilliant  dash  of  red  on  either 
side  of  the  throat.  The  name,  however,  gives  no  hint  of  the 
exquisite  beauty  of  the  markings  of  the  fish,  the  skill  required 
and  excitement  developed  in  catching  it,  and  the  dainty  de- 
liciousness  of  its  flesh  when  properly  cooked. 

Owing  to  the  wonderful  adaptability  of  Lake  Tahoe,  and 
the  lakes  and  brooks  of  the  surrounding  region,  to  fish  life, 
several  other  well-known  varieties  have  been  introduced,  all 
of  which  have  thrived  abundantly  and  now  afford  oppor- 
tunity for  the  skill  of  the  fisherman  and  delight  the  palate  of 
the  connoisseur.  These  are  the  Mackinac,  rainbow,  eastern 
brook,  and  Loch  Levin.  There  is  also  found  a  beautiful  and 
dainty  silver  trout,  along  the  shore  where  the  cold  waters 
of  the  various  brooks  or  creeks  flow  into  Lake  Tahoe  (and 
also  in  some  of  the  smaller  lakes),  that  is  much  prized. 
Some  fishermen  claim  that  it  is  the  "  prettiest,  gamiest, 
sweetest  and  choicest "  fish  of  the  Lake,  and  it  has  been 
caught  weighing  as  high  as  twelve  pounds. 

Another  fish,  native  to  Lake  Tahoe,  is  found  in  vast  num- 
bers by  the  Indians  in  the  fall.     The  ordinary  summer  visi- 

266 


FISHING  IN  THE  LAKES  267 

tor  to  Tahoe  seldom  sees  or  hears  of  these,  as  they  rarely 
bite  until  the  summer  season  is  over,  say  in  October.  This 
is  a  white  fish,  varying  in  size  from  half  a  pound  to  four 
pounds  in  weight,  with  finely  flavored  flesh.  It  is  found  in 
shallow  water  and  near  the  mouths  of  the  creeks,  and  the 
Indians  have  a  way  of  "  snagging "  them  in.  Building  a 
kind  of  half  platform  and  half  stone  screen  over  the  pools 
where  they  abound,  the  Indians  take  a  long  wire,  the  end 
of  which  they  have  sharpened  and  bent  to  form  a  rude  hook. 
Then,  without  bait,  or  any  attempt  at  sport,  they  lower  the 
hook  and  as  rapidly  as  the  fish  appear,  "  snag  "  them  out,  lit- 
erally by  the  hundreds.  Most  of  these  are  salted  down  for 
winter  use.  This  is  supposed  to  be  a  native,  and  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  Indians  confirm  the  supposition. 

The  largest  native  Tahoe  trout  caught,  of  which  there  is 
any  authentic  record,  was  captured  not  far  from  Glenbrook 
and  weighed  35  pounds,  and,  strange  to  say,  its  capturer  was 
an  amateur.  This,  the  boatmen  tell  me,  is  generally  the  case 
—  the  amateurs  almost  invariably  bringing  in  the  largest  fish. 
Although  there  are  rumors  of  fish  having  been  caught  weigh- 
ing as  high  as  45  pounds  it  is  impossible  to  trace  these  down 
to  any  accurate  and  reliable  source,  hence,  until  there  is  posi- 
tive assurance  to  the  contrary  it  may  be  regarded  that  this 
catch  is  the  largest  on  record. 

The  common  Tahoe  method  of  "  trolling  "  for  trout  is 
different  from  the  eastern  method.  It  is  the  result  of  years 
of  experience  and  is  practically  as  follows:  A  copper  line, 
100  to  200  feet  long,  which  sinks  of  its  own  weight,  on 
which  a  large  copper  spoon  is  placed  above  the  hook,  which 
is  baited  with  a  minnow  and  angle-worm,  is  used.  Thrown 
into  the  water  the  line  is  gently  pulled  forward  by  the  angler, 
then  allowed  to  sink  back.  He  takes  care,  however,  always 
to  keep  it  taut.  This  makes  the  spoon  revolve  and  attracts 
the  fish.     The  moment  the  angler  feels  a  strike  he  gives  his 


268       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

line  a  quick  jerk  and  proceeds  to  pull  in,  landing  the  fish  with 
the  net.  The  local  term  for  this  method  of  fishing  is  "  jerk- 
line." 

The  copper  line  used  is  generally  a  6  oz.  for  lOO  feet,  and 
the  length  is  adjusted  to  the  places  in  which  the  fisherman 
wishes  to  operate. 

Let  us,  for  a  short  time,  watch  the  would-be  angler. 
Women  are  often  far  more  eager  than  men.  The  hotels  of 
Tahoe  keep  their  own  fishing-boats.  The  larger  ones  have  a 
fleet  of  twenty  or  more,  and  in  the  season  this  is  found  in- 
sufficient for  the  number  who  wish  to  try  their  hand  and 
prove  their  luck.  Often  great  rivalry  exists  not  only  in 
securing  the  boatmen  who  have  had  extra  good  luck  or  dis- 
played extraordinary  skill,  but  also  between  the  guests  as 
to  the  extent  of  their  various  "  catches."  When  a  boatman 
has  taken  his  "  fare  "  into  regions  that  have  proven  success- 
ful, and  does  this  with  frequency,  it  is  natural  that  those  who 
wish  to  run  up  a  large  score  should  try  hard  to  secure  him. 
This  adds  to  the  fun  —  especially  to  the  onlookers. 

The  boat  is  all  ready;  the  angler  takes  his  (or  her)  seat 
in  the  cushioned  stern,  feet  resting  upon  a  double  carpet  — 
this  is  fishing  de  luxe.  The  oarsman  pushes  off  and  quietly 
rows  away  from  the  pier  out  into  deep  water,  which,  at 
Tahoe  varies  from  75  feet  to  the  unknown  depths  of  1500 
feet  or  more.  The  color  of  the  water  suggests  even  to  the 
tyro  the  depth,  and  as  soon  as  the  "  Tahoe  blue  "  is  reached 
the  boatman  takes  his  large  hand-reel,  unfastens  the  hook, 
baits  it  with  minnow  and  worm  and  then  hands  it  to  the 
angler,  with  instructions  to  allow  it  to  unreel  when  thrown 
out  on  the  port  side  at  the  stern. 

At  the  same  time  he  prepares  a  second  hook  from  a  second 
reel  which  he  throws  out  at  the  starboard  side.  At  the  end 
of  each  copper  line  a  few  yards  of  fish-cord  are  attached  in 
which  a  loop  is  adjusted  for  the  fingers.     This  holds  the 


FISHING  IN  THE  LAKES  269 

line  secure  while  the  backward  and  forward  pulls  are  being 
made,  and  affords  a  good  hold  for  the  hook-impaling  "  jerk  " 
when  a  strike  is  felt.  While  the  "  angler  "  pulls  on  his  line 
the  boatman  slowly  rows  along,  and  holding  his  line  on  the 
fingers  of  his  "  starboard  "  hand,  he  secures  the  proper  mo- 
tion as  he  rows. 

Then,  pulling  over  the  ledges  or  ridges  between  shallow 
and  deeper,  or  deeper  and  deep  water,  he  exercises  all  his 
skill  and  acquired  knowledge  and  experience  to  enable  his 
"  fare  "  to  make  a  good  catch.  As  soon  as  a  strike  is  felt  and 
duly  hooked  he  sees  that  the  line  is  drawn  in  steadily  so  as 
not  to  afford  the  fish  a  chance  to  rid  itself  of  the  hook,  and, 
as  soon  as  it  appears,  he  drops  his  oar,  seizes  the  net,  and 
lands  the  catch  to  the  great  delight  of  his  less-experienced 
fare. 

Many  are  the  tales  that  a  privileged  listener  may  hear 
around  the  fisherman's  night-haunts,  telling  of  the  antics  of 
their  many  and  various  fares,  when  a  strike  has  been  made. 
Some  become  so  excited  that  they  tangle  up  their  lines,  and 
one  boatman  assures  me  that,  on  one  occasion  a  lady  was  so 
"  rattled  "  that  she  finally  wrapped  her  line  in  such  a  fashion 
around  both  elbows  that  she  sat  helpless  and  he  had  to  come 
to  her  rescue  and  release  her. 

On  another  occasion  a  pair  of  "  newly-weds  "  went  out 
angling.  When  "  hubby  "  caught  a  fish,  the  pair  celebrated 
the  catch  by  enthusiastically  kissing,  totally  regardless  of  the 
surprise  or  envy  that  might  be  excited  in  the  bosom  of  the 
poor  boatman,  and  when  "  wifie  "  caught  a  fish  the  same  pro- 
cedure was  repeated.  "  Of  course,"  said  the  boatman,  in 
telling  me  the  story,  "  that  pair  caught  m.ore  fish  than  any 
one  I  had  had  for  a  month,  simply  to  taunt  me  with  their 
carryings  on." 

In  the  height  of  the  season  the  guests  become  the  most 
enthusiastic  fishermen  of  all.     They  take  a  growing  pride  in 


270       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

their  increasing  scores  and  the  fishing  then  resolves  itself  into 
an  earnest,  almost  deadly,  tournament  in  which  each  deter- 
mines to  outscore  the  others.  This  is  what  the  boatmen  en- 
joy —  though  it  often  means  longer  hours  and  more  severe 
rowing — for  it  is  far  easier  to  work  (so  they  say)  for  a 
■  fare  "  who  is  really  interested  than  for  one  who  is  half- 
hearted   and   indifferent. 

As  these  rivals'  boats  pass  each  other  they  call  out  in  tri- 
umph their  rising  luck,  or  listen  gloweringly  to  the  recital  of 
others'  good  fortune,  when  they  are  compelled  to  silence  be- 
cause of  their  own  failure. 

Sometimes  the  boatmen  find  these  rivalries  rather  embarrass- 
ing, for  the  excitement  and  nervousness  of  their  "  fares  "  be- 
come communicated  to  them.  Then,  perhaps,  they  lose  a 
promising  strike,  or,  in  their  hurry,  fail  to  land  the  fish  when 
it  appears.  Scolding  and  recriminations  are  not  uncommon 
on  such  occasions,  and  thus  is  the  gayety  of  nations  added  to. 

What  is  it  that  really  constitutes  "fisherman's  luck"? 
Who  can  tell?  The  theories  of  Tahoe  fishermen  are  as 
many  as  there  are  men.  Some  think  one  thing,  some  another. 
One  will  talk  learnedly  of  the  phases  of  the  moon,  another 
of  the  effect  of  warmer  or  colder  weather  upon  the  "  bugs  " 
upon  which  the  fish  feed. 

Sometimes  one  will  "  jerk  "  half  a  day  and  never  get  a 
strike;  other  days  the  boat  will  scarcely  have  left  the  wharf 
before  one  pulls  the  fish  in  almost  as  fast  as  hooks  can  be 
baited  and  thrown  out.  When  fishing  is  slow  an  amateur 
soon  becomes  tired  out.  The  monotonous  pull  on  the  line 
soon  makes  the  arm  weary,  and  destroys  all  enthusiasm.  But 
let  the  strikes  begin  and  weariness  disappears.  Some  days 
the  fish  will  bite  for  an  hour,  say  from  eleven  to  twelve,  and 
then  quit  and  not  give  another  strike  all  day.  The  very  next 
day,  in  the  same  spot,  one  cannot  get  a  bite  until  afternoon. 

One  of  my  fishermen  friends  once  related  the  following: 


FISHING  IN  THE  LAKES  271 

"  Again  and  again  I  have  heard  old  and  experienced  fisher- 
men say  that  no  fish  can  be  caught  in  a  thunder-storm.  Yet 
in  July  1913  four  boats  were  towed  by  a  launch  out  to  the 
Nevada  side,  near  to  Glenbrook.  It  appeared  stormy  be- 
fore the  party  left,  but  they  refused  to  be  daunted  or  dis- 
couraged by  the  doleful  prognostications  of  the  "  know-it- 
alls."  Before  long  the  lightning  began,  the  clouds  hung 
heavy,  and  while  they  fished  they  were  treated  to  alternate 
doses  of  thunder,  lightning,  cloud,  sunshine,  rain  and  hail. 
In  less  than  an  hour  every  member  of  the  party  —  and  there 
were  several  ladies  —  were  soaked  and  drenched  to  the  skin, 
but  all  were  happy.  For,  contrary  to  the  assertions  of  the  ex- 
perts, every  angler  was  having  glorious  success.  Each  boat 
secured  its  full  quota,  40  fish  to  each,  and  the  catch  aver- 
aged 70  pounds  to  a  boat,  scarcely  a  fish  being  pulled  out 
that  did  not  weigh  over  a  pound.  Talk  about  luck;  these 
people  surely  had  it." 

Once  again;  I  was  out  one  day  with  Boat  No.  14  (each 
boat  has  its  own  number),  and  the  boatman  told  me  the  fol- 
lowing story.  I  know  him  well  and  his  truthfulness  is  be- 
yond question.  He  had  with  him  two  well-known  San 
Francisco  gentlemen,  whom  I  will  name  respectively,  Rosen- 
baum  and  Rosenblatt.  They  were  out  for  the  day.  For 
hours  they  "  jerked  "  without  success.  At  last  one  turned 
to  the  other  and  said :  "  Rosie,  I've  got  a  hunch  that  our 
luck's  going  to  change.  I'm  going  to  count  twenty  and  be- 
fore I'm  through  we'll  each  have  a  fish."  Slowly  he  began 
to  count,  one, —  two, —  three.  Just  as  he  counted  fourteen, 
both  men  felt  a  strike,  gave  the  fateful  jerk,  and  pulled  in  a 
large  fish,  and  from  that  moment  their  luck  changed. 

This  is  not  the  whole  of  the  story,  however.     Some  days 

later  the  same  boatman  was  out  on  the  Nevada  side  with  two 

j  gentlemen,  who  could  not  get  a  bite.     Merely  to  while  away 

the  time  the  boatman  told  the  foregoing  facts.     To  his  sur- 


272       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

prise  and  somewhat  to  his  disgust  at  his  own  indiscretion  in 
telling  the  story,  one  of  the  gentlemen  began  to  count,  and, 
believe  it  or  not,  he  assures  me  that  at  the  fateful  fourteen, 
he  gained  a  first-class  strike,  and  continued  to  have  success 
throughout  the  afternoon. 

As  he  left  the  boat  he  turned  to  his  companion  and  said : 
"  Well,  that  fourteen's  proved  a  lucky  number.  I'm  going 
right  over  to  the  roulette  wheel  to  see  what  luck  it  will  give 
me  over  there." 

My  boatman  friend  added  that  as  he  heard  nothing  of 
any  great  winnings  at  the  wheel  that  night,  and  Mr.  X. 
looked  rather  quiet  and  sober  the  next  day,  he  is  afraid  the 
luck  did  not  last.  Needless  to  say  that  except  to  me,  and 
then  only  in  my  capacity  as  a  writer,  the  story  has  never  been 
told. 

Now,  while  the  jerk-line  method  brings  much  joy  to  the 
heart  of  the  successful  and  lucky  amateur,  the  genuine  dis- 
ciple of  Izaak  Walton  scorns  this  unsportsman-like  method. 
He  comes  earlier  in  the  season,  April,  May,  or  June,  or  later, 
in  September,  and  brings  his  rod  and  line,  when  the  fish 
keep  nearer  to  the  shore  in  the  pot-holes  and  rocky  formations, 
and  then  angles  with  the  fly.  It  is  only  at  these  times,  how- 
ever, that  he  is  at  all  likely  to  have  any  success,  as  the  Tahoe 
trout  does  not  generally  rise  to  the  fly. 

Yet,  strange  to  say,  in  all  the  smaller  trout-stocked  lakes 
of  the  region.  Fallen  Leaf,  Cascade,  Heather,  Lily,  Susie, 
Lucile,  Grass,  LeConte,  Rock  Bound,  the  Velmas,  Angora, 
Echo,  Tamarack,  Lake  of  the  Woods,  Rainbow,  Pit,  Gilmore, 
Kalmia,  Fontinalis,  Eagle,  Granite,  and  as  many  more,  the 
trout  are  invariably  caught  with  the  fly,  though  the  species 
most  sought  after  is  not  the  native  Tahoe  trout,  but  the  east-  j 
ern  brook.  This  is  essentially  fish  for  the  genuine  angler, 
and  many  are  the  tales  —  true  and  otherwise  —  told  of  the 
sport  the  capture  of  this  fish  has  afforded  in  the  region. 


FISHING  IN  THE  LAKES  273 

There  are  several  interesting  peculiarities  about  the  fish 
of  Lake  Tahoe  and  its  region  that  it  is  well  to  note.  In  the 
large  lake  (Tahoe)  the  native  cutthroat  grows  to  much  the 
largest  size  —  the  35-lb.  one  referred  to  elsewhere  being 
proof  of  its  great  growth. 

The  next  in  size  is  the  Mackinac  which  is  often  caught 
as  large  as  10  lb.,  and  now  and  again  up  to  15  lb. 

In  Fallen  Leaf  Lake,  which  was  stocked  with  Mackinac 
some  years  ago,  the  native  trout  has  become  comparatively 
scarce,  the  former  seemingly  having  driven  it  out,  though  in 
Lake  Tahoe  there  is  no  such  result.  In  Fallen  Leaf  not 
more  than  one  or  two  in  ten  will  be  cutthroats,  while  Macki- 
nacs  abound,  up  to  6  lbs.  and  7  lbs.  in  weight.  Occasionally 
much  larger  fish  are  seen,  though  they  are  seldom  brought 
to  net.  Not  long  ago  a  Loch  Levin,  weighing  12  lbs.,  was 
caught  here. 

While  the  catch  of  fish  in  the  smaller  lakes  of  the  region 
is  exceedingly  large  the  fish  themselves  are  smaller,  the  op- 
portunities for  hiding  and  fattening  and  growing  older  being 
comparatively  greater  in  the  larger  body  of  water. 

During  the  height  of  the  season  when  there  are  a  great 
many  boats  out  it  is  common  to  hire  a  launch  which  will 
tow  from  four  to  a  dozen  boats  over  towards  Emerald  Bay 
on  the  California  side,  or  towards  Glenbrook  on  the  Nevada 
side,  where  the  fishing  grounds  are  known  to  be  of  the  best. 
The  boatmen  especially  enjoy  these  days  out  —  although  the 
"fares"  may  not  always  suspect  it  —  as  it  gives  them  a 
change  from  their  ordinary  routine  and  table  fare.  They  en- 
joy trout  as  well  as  do  the  visitors,  and  of  course,  they  are 
all  expert  cooks  as  well  as  boatmen.  When  noon-time  comes, 
if  there  has  been  any  luck,  a  camp-fire  is  built  and  the  fish 
are  fried,  or  broiled  on  the  coals,  or  by  experts,  made  into 
an  excellent  chowder.  And  never  does  one  enjoy  a  fish  din- 
ner so  much  as  under  these  circumstances.     The  exercise,  the 


274      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

fresh  air,  the  motion  over  the  water,  the  deliciousness  and 
delicate  flavor  of  the  fish,  all  conspire  to  tempt  the  most 
capricious  appetite. 

Once  in  a  while  a  black  bass  will  be  caught,  though  It  is 
not  believed  that  this  is  a  native  fish.  It  does  not  seem  to 
thrive  in  Tahoe  though  the  boatmen  tell  me  they  occasion- 
ally see  a  few,  especially  oflE  the  docks  at  Tallac  and  other 
points  at  the  south  end  of  the  Lake. 

Now  and  again  small  bull-heads  will  be  seen,  and  a  very 
small  rock-bass.  But  these  never  bite  on  hook  and  line,  and 
are  seldom  found  more  than  two  or  three  inches  long. 

On  the  other  hand  big  schools  of  suckers  and  chubs  are 
seen.  The  former  naturally  are  scorned  by  all  true  fisher- 
men as  they  are  regarded  as  hogs,  or  scavengers,  and  are 
thrown  back  whenever  caught,  or  are  taken  and  fed  to  the 
gulls  or  pelicans.  The  chubs  occasionally  are  hooked  and 
are  from  half  a  pound  to  a  pound  and  a  half  in  size.  As  a 
rule  these  are  thrown  back,  though  they  make  good  eating 
to  those  who  do  not  object  to  their  excess  of  bones. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  sights  is  to  see  one  of  the 
schools  of  minnows  that  fairly  abound  in  Lake  Tahoe.  In 
the  clear  and  pellucid  water  one  can  clearly  see  them  swim 
along.  As  they  pass  a  rocky  place  a  trout  will  dart  out  and 
catch  his  prey.  A  flutter  at  once  passes  through  the  whole 
school.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  the  trout  will  sometimes  swim 
around  such  a  body  and  either  stupify  them  with  fear,  or 
hypnotize  them  into  forgetfulness  of  their  presence,  for  they 
will  float  quietly  in  the  center  of  the  mass,  catching  the  min- 
nows one  by  one  as  they  need  them  without  exciting  the 
least  fear  or  attention.  The  minnows  generally  remain  in 
fairly  shallow  water,  and  keep  so  closely  together  that  a  line 
of  demarcation  is  made  between  where  they  are  and  outside, 
as  if  it  had  been  cut  with  a  knife  along  a  straight  edge,  and 


FISHING  IN  THE  LAKES  275 

in  some  mysterious  way  the  fish  dare  not  cross  it,  though  it 
constantly  moves  along  with  their  movements. 

It  will  be  obvious  that  necessarily  there  is  much  market- 
fishing  in  Lake  Tahoe  and  its  surrounding  lakes.  Indeed 
there  are  large  numbers  of  fishermen  —  Indians  and  whites 
—  who  supply  the  various  hotels  both  of  the  Lake  region  and 
in  San  Francisco,  Oakland,  Sacramento  and  adjacent  cities, 
and  even  as  far  as  Denver  and  Salt  Lake  City,  eastwards,  and 
Los  Angeles  to  the  south.  These  fishermen  are  very  per- 
sistent in  their  work,  keeping  at  it  from  early  morning  until 
late  at  night,  though  their  catches  are  supposed  to  be  offi- 
cially regulated. 

The  amount  of  fish  caught  and  shipped  by  these  market- 
fishermen  is  remarkable.  In  191 1  the  report  shows  that  over 
22,000  pounds  were  sent  out  by  express,  over  half  of  which 
were  sent  from  Tallac  alone.  And  this  does  not  take  any 
account  of  the  amount  caught  and  eaten  by  private  residents 
around  the  Lake,  by  the  visitors  or  by  the  hotels. 

The  fish  that  are  to  be  shipped  are  not,  as  one  might 
naturally  suppose,  packed  in  ice.  Experience  has  demon- 
strated a  better  way  which  is  now  universally  followed.  At 
Tallac  the  hotel  has  a  large  place  devoted  to  this  process, 
which  is  practically  as  follows:  Each  boatman  has  a  fish- 
box,  numbered  to  correspond  with  his  boat.  These  are  kept 
in  the  water  during  the  season,  and  if  the  catch  of  his  "fare" 
for  one  day  is  not  sufficient  for  a  shipment  it  is  placed  in  the 
box.  When  a  sufliicient  number  is  on  hand,  they  are  taken 
out  by  the  boatman,  carefully  cleaned  and  hung  up  to  dry 
in  fly-proof,  open-air  cages.  When  perfectly  dry  inside  and 
out  they  are  packed  in  sweet-smelling  Tallac  Meadow  hay, 
and  shipped  by  express. 

Many  visitors  cannot  understand  why  there  are  no  fish 
in  some  of  the  lakes  that,  to  their  eyes,  seem  just  as  well 


276       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

adapted  for  fish  as  others  that  possess  an  abundance.  Even 
old  timers  do  not  all  know  the  reason.  If  a  lake  is  shal- 
low, when  the  deep  snow  falls  it  soon  sinks  below  the  sur- 
face in  a  heavy  mushy  mass  that  presses  down  upon  the  fish 
and  prevents  their  breathing.  Then,  if  a  severe  frost  fol- 
lows and  the  mass  freezes  the  ice  squeezes  the  fish  to  the 
bottom.  Over  three  years  ago  Watson  took  fish  to  Bessie 
Lake,  putting  in  as  many  as  6000  fry  of  Lake  Tahoe  and 
other  species.  The  next  year,  and  the  following  years  they 
were  all  right,  having  grown  to  eight  or  nine  inches  in 
length.  Then  came  a  severe  winter  and  in  the  spring  there 
was  not  a  living  fish  left.  The  bottom  was  strewn  with 
them,  many  of  them  with  broken  backs. 


A  GNARLED   MONARCH  OF  THE  HIGH   SIERRAS,  AN  AGED 
TUNIPER,  NEAR  LAKE  TAHOE 


MOUNTAIN  HEATHER,  IN   DESOLATION  VALLEY,  NEAR  LAKE 
TAHOE 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

HUNTING   AT    LAKE    TAHOE 

IN  the  chapter  on  the  Birds  and  Animals  of  the  Tahoe 
Region  I  have  written  of  the  game  to  be  found.  There 
are  few  places  left  in  the  Sierras  where  such  good  deer- 
and  bear-hunting  can  be  found  as  near  Tahoe.  During  the 
dense  snow-falls  the  deer  descend  the  western  slopes,  ap- 
proaching nearer  and  nearer  to  the  settlements  of  the  upper 
foothills,  and  there  they  do  fairly  well  until  the  snow  be- 
gins to  recede  in  the  spring.  They  keep  as  near  to  the  snow 
line  as  possible,  and  are  then  as  tame  and  gentle  almost  as 
sheep.  When  the  season  opens,  however,  they  soon  flee  to 
certain  secret  recesses  and  hidden  lairs  known  to  none  but 
the  old  and  experienced  guides  of  the  region.  There  are 
so  many  of  these  wooded  retreats,  however,  and  the  Tahoe 
area  is  so  vast,  that  it  is  seldom  an  expert  goes  out  for  deer 
(or  bear)  that  he  fails.  Hence  the  sportsman  is  always  as- 
sured of  "  something  worth  while." 

As  for  bear  I  have  told  elsewhere  of  recent  hunts  on  Mt. 
iFreel  from  Tallac,  and  the  two  bears  killed  there  in  19 13, 
and  of  Carl  Flugge's  experiences.  With  Tallac  hunters, 
Flugge,  Bob  Watson  or  any  other  experienced  man,  one  can 
scarcely  fail  to  have  exciting  and  successful  times. 


277 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE    FLOWERS    OF   THE    TAHOE   REGION 

IT  would  be  impossible  in  the  space  of  a  brief  chapter 
to  present  even  a  list  of  all  the  flowers  found  and  re- 
corded in  the  Tahoe  Region.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
1300  different  species  already  have  been  listed.  This  chap- 
ter will  merely  call  attention  to  the  most  prominent,  or,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  rarer  and  special  flowering  plants  that 
the  visitor  should  eagerly  search  for. 

As  fast  as  the  snow  retires  from  the  sun-kissed  slopes  the 
flowers  begin  to  come  out.  Indeed  in  April,  were  one  at 
Tahoe,  he  could  make  a  daily  pilgrimage  to  the  receding 
snow-line  and  there  enjoy  new  revelations  of  dainty  beauty 
each  morning.  For  the  flowers,  as  the  snow-coating  be- 
comes thinner,  respond  to  the  "  call  of  the  sun,"  and  thrust 
up  their  spears  out  of  the  softened  and  moistened  earth,  so 
that  when  the  last  touch  of  snow  is  gone  they  are  often  al- 
ready in  bud  ready  to  burst  forth  into  flower  at  the  first  kiss 
of  sunshine. 

In  May  they  come  trooping  along  in  all  their  pristine 
glory,  God's  thoughts  cast  upon  the  mold  of  earth,  so  that 
even  the  men  and  women  of  downcast  eyes  and  souls  may 
know  the  ever-fresh,  ever-present  love  of  God. 

Most  interesting  of  all  is  the  snow-plant  (sarcodes  san- 
guinea  Torrey).  The  name  is  unfortunate.  The  plant 
doesn't  look  like  snow,  nor  does  it  grow  on  or  in  the  snow. 
It  simply  follows  the  snow  line,  as  so  many  of  the  Sierran 
plants  do,  and  as  the  snow  melts  and  leaves  the  valley,  one 

278 


FLOWERS  OF  THE  TAHOE  REGION      279 

must  climb  to  find  it.  It  is  of  a  rich  red  color,  which  glows 
in  the  sunlight  like  a  living  thing.  It  has  no  leaves  but  is 
supplied  with  over-lapping  scale-like  bracts  of  a  warm  flesh- 
tint.  At  the  lower  part  of  the  flower  these  are  rigid  and 
closely  adherent  to  the  stem,  but  higher  up  they  become 
looser  and  curl  gracefully  about  among  the  vivid  red  bells. 
In  the  spring  of  19 14  they  were  w^onderfully  plentiful  at 
the  Tavern  and  all  around  the  Lake.  I  literally  saw  hun- 
dreds of  them. 

Next  in  interest  comes  the  heather,  both  red  and  white. 
In  Desolation  Valley,  as  well  as  around  most  of  the  Sierran 
lakes  of  the  Tahoe  Region,  beds  of  heather  are  found  that 
have  won  enthusiastic  Scotchmen  to  declare  that  Tahoe 
heather  beats  that  of  Scotland.  The  red  heather  is  the  more 
abundant,  and  its  rich  deep  green  leaves  and  crown  of  glow- 
ing red  makes  it  to  be  desired,  but  the  white  heather  is  a 
flower  fit  for  the  delicate  corsage  bouquet  of  a  queen,  or  the 
lapel  of  the  noblest  of  men.  Dainty  and  exquisite,  perfect 
in  shape  and  color  its  tiny  white  bell  is  par-excellence  the 
emblem  of  passionate  purity. 

Blue  gentians  (Gentina  calycosa,  Griseb)  abound,  their 
deep  blue  blossoms  rivaling  the  pure  blue  of  our  Sierran 
skies.  These  often  come  late  in  the  season  and  cheer  the 
hearts  of  those  who  come  upon  them  with  "  a  glad  sweet 
surprise."     There  are  also  white  gentians  found  aplenty. 

The  water  lilies  of  the  Tahoe  Region  are  strikingly  beau- 
tiful. In  many  of  the  Sierran  lakes  conditions  seem  to  ex- 
ist which  make  them  flourish  and  they  are  found  in  plentiful 
quantities. 

Wild  marigolds  abound  in  large  patches,  even  on  the 
mountain  heights,  where  there  is  plenty  of  moisture  and  sun- 
shine, and  a  species  of  marguerite,  or  mountain  daisy,  is  not 
uncommon.  The  Indian  paint-brush  is  found  everywhere 
and  is  in  full  bloom  in  deepest  red  in  September. 


28o       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Wild  sunflowers  also  abound  except  where  the  sheep  have 
been.  Then  not  a  sign  of  once  vast  patches  can  be  found. 
They  are  eaten  clear  to  the  ground. 

The  mullein  attains  especial  dignity  in  this  mountain  re- 
gion. Stately  and  proud  it  rises  above  the  lesser  though 
more  beautiful  flowers  of  the  wild.  It  generally  dies  down 
in  September,  though  an  occasional  flowering  stalk  may  be 
seen  as  late  as  October. 

Another  very  common  but  ever-welcome  plant,  for  its 
pungent  and  pleasing  odor,  is  the  pennyroyal.  It  abounds 
throughout  the  whole  region  and  its  hardiness  keeps  it  flow- 
ering until  late  in  the  fall. 

Beautiful  and  delicate  at  all  times  wherever  seen,  the  wild 
snowdrop  is  especially  welcome  in  the  Tahoe  Region,  where, 
amid  soaring  pines  and  firs,  it  timidly  though  faithfully 
blooms  and  cheers  the  eye  with  its  rare  purity. 

Now  and  again  one  will  find  the  beautiful  California 
fuschia  {zauschneria  Calif ornica,  Presl.)  its  delicate  beauty 
delighting  the  eye  and  suggesting  some  of  the  rare  orchids 
of  a  pale  yellow  tint. 

The  Sierra  primrose  {Primula  Suffrutescens)  is  often 
found  near  to  the  snow-line.  Its  tufts  of  evergreen  leaves 
seem  to  revel  in  the  cold  water  of  the  melting  snow  and  the 
exquisite  rose-tints  of  the  flowers  are  enhanced  by  the  pure 
white  of  what  snow  is  left  to  help  bring  them  into  being. 

It  is  natural  that,  in  a  region  so  abounding  in  water,  ferns 
of  many  kinds  should  also  abound.  The  common  brake 
flourishes  on  the  eastern  slopes,  but  I  have  never  found  the 
maiden  hair.  On  the  western  slopes  it  is  abundant,  but 
rarely  if  ever  found  on  the  easterly  exposures. 

Most  striking  and  attractive  among  the  shrubs  are  the 
mountain  ash,  the  mountain  mahogany  {cereocarpus  parvi- 
folius,  Nutt.)  the  California  laurel  {umbellularia  Calif  or- 
nica, Nutt.)  and  the  California  holly,  or  toy  on.     The  rich 


FLOWERS  OF  THE  TAHOE  REGION       281 

berries,  the  green  leaves,  the  exquisite  and  dainty  flowers, 
the  delicious  and  stimulating  odors  all  combine  to  make  these 
most  welcome  in  every  Sierran  landscape,  no  matter  at  what 
season  they  appear. 

While  in  the  foregoing  notes  on  the  flowers  of  the  Tahoe 
region  I  have  hastily  gone  over  the  ground,  one  particular 
mountain  to  the  north  of  Tahoe  has  been  so  thoroughly  and 
scientifically  studied  that  it  seems  appropriate  to  call  more 
particular  attention  to  it  in  order  that  botanists  may  realize 
how  rich  the  region  is  in  rare  treasures.  For  what  follows 
I  am  indebted  to  the  various  writings  of  Professor  P.  Bev- 
eridge  Kennedy,  long  time  professor  at  the  University  of  Ne- 
vada, but  recently  elected  to  the  faculty  of  the  University  of 
California. 

One  could  almost  write  a  "  Botany  "  of  Mt.  Rose  alone, 
so  interesting  are  the  floral  specimens  found  there.  This 
mountain  stands  unique  in  the  Lake  Tahoe  region  in  that  it 
is  an  intermediate  between  the  high  mountains  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  and  those  of  the  interior  of  the  Great  Basin. 
Its  flora  are  undoubtedly  influenced  by  the  dry  atmospheric 
conditions  that  exist  on  the  eastern  side.  A  mere  sugges- 
tion only  can  be  given  here  of  the  full  enjoyment  afforded 
by  a  careful  study  of  what  it  offers. 

At  from  10,000  feet  up  the  following  new  species  have 
been  found.  Eriogonum  rhodanthum,  a  perennial  which 
forms  dense  mats  on  hard  rocky  ground.  The  caudex  is 
made  up  of  many  strands  twisted  together  like  rope,  its 
numerous  branches  terminated  by  clusters  of  very  small,  new 
and  old  leaves,  with  flower  clusters.  Another  similar  spe- 
cies is  the  E.  rosensis. 

An  interesting  rock-cress  is  found  in  the  Arabis  Depau- 
perata,  which  here  shows  the  results  of  Its  fierce  struggles 
for  existence.     It  bears  minute  purple  flowers. 

Flowering  in  the  middle  of  August,  but  past  flowering  at 


282       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

the  end  of  September  the  Gilia  montana  is  found,  with  its 
numerous  white  and  pink  leaves. 

Nearby  is  the  Phlox  dejecta  in  large  quantities,  resembling 
a  desert  moss,  and  covering  the  rocks  with  its  tinted  carpet. 

An  Indian  paint-brush  with  a  flower  in  an  oblong  cream- 
colored  spike,  with  purple  blotches,  was  named  Castilleia 
inconspicua,  possibly  because  it  is  so  much  less  conspicuous 
and  alluring  to  the  eye  than  its  well-known  and  striking 
brother  of  the  California  fields,  C.  parviflora.  This  species 
has  been  of  great  interest  to  botanists,  as  when  first  observed 
it  was  placed  in  the  genus  Orthocarpus.  Professor  Kennedy 
thinks  it  is  undoubtedly  a  connecting  link  between  the  two 
genera.  It  has  been  found  only  on  Mount  Rose,  where  it  is 
common  at  between  9000  and  10,000  feet  elevation.  It 
reaches,  however,  to  the  summit,  though  it  is  more  sparingly 
found  there. 

Professor  Kennedy  also  describes  Hulsea  Caespitosa,  or 
Alpine  dandelion,  a  densely  pubescent  plant,  emitting  a  disa- 
greeable odor,  whose  large  yellow  flowers  surprise  one  when 
seen  glowing  apparently  out  of  the  masses  of  loose  volcanic 
rock.  It  is  soon  found,  however,  that  they  have  roots  deep 
down  in  good  soil  beneath.  Another  new  species,  Chryso- 
thamnus  Monocephala,  or  Alpine  rabbit-brush,  is  a  very  low, 
shrubby  plant,  with  insignificant  pale  yellow  flowers. 

A  beautiful  little  plant,  well  adapted  to  rockeries  and 
suited  for  cultivation,  is  Polemonium  Montrosense.  Under 
good  conditions  it  grows  excellently.  It  was  found  on  the 
summit  of  Mt.  Rose,  and  at  lower  elevations. 

Clusters  of  the  Alpine  Monkey-flower  {Mimulus  Im- 
plexuSj  Greene),  are  also  found  on  Mt.  Rose,  as  well  as  on 
other  Tahoe  mountain  summits.  The  rich  yellow  flowers 
bloom  profusely,  though  their  bed  is  often  a  moraine  of  wet 
rocks  over  which  a  turbulent  cold  stream  has  recently  sub- 
sided. 


FLOWERS  OF  THE  TAHOE  REGION      283 

Slightly  below  the  summit  the  little  elephant's-head  have 
been  found  {Elephantella  attolens  (Gray)  Heller),  Ryd- 
berg  in  his  Flora  of  Montana  showed  that  these  were  not 
properly  the  true  pendicularis,  as  they  had  hitherto  been  re- 
garded, hence  the  new  name.  The  corolla  strikingly  re- 
sembles the  head  of  an  elephant,  the  beak  of  the  galea  form- 
ing the  trunk,  the  lateral  lobes  of  the  lips  the  ears,  and  the 
stigma  the  finger-like  appendage  of  the  trunk. 

In  August,  growing  below  the  perpetual  snow  banks  at 
about  10,000  feet  elevation  that  supply  an  abundance  of 
moisture,  one  will  often  find  clumps  of  Rhodiola  Integrifolia, 
which  attract  the  eye  with  their  deep  reddish-purple  flowers 
and  fruits.     The  leaves  also  have  a  purple  tinge. 

Nearby  clambering  over  the  granite  bowlders  the  Alpine 
heath,  Cassiope  Mertensianae,  with  its  multitude  of  rose- 
tinted  flower  bells,  sometimes  is  found,  though  not  in  the  pro- 
fusion it  displays  in  Desolation  Valley. 

Another  very  interesting  plant  is  the  Alpine  currant 
(Ribes  Inebrians,  LindL)  which  between  the  years  1832  and 
1907  has  received  no  less  than  eight  different  names  accorded 
by  European  and  American  botanists.  It  is  a  remarkable 
shrub,  in  that  it  occurs  higher  on  the  mountain  than  any 
other  form  of  vegetation  except  lichens.  The  roots  pene- 
trate deeply  into  the  crevices  of  the  lava  rocks,  enabling  it 
to  withstand  the  fierce  winds.  The  flowers,  which  appear  in 
August,  are  white,  shading  to  pink,  and  the  red  berries,  which 
are  not  especially  palatable  on  account  of  their  insipid  taste 
and  numerous  seeds,  are  abundant  in  September.  Another 
new  Mt.  Rose  ribes  has  been  named  Churchii  m  honor  of 
Professor  J.  E.  Church,  Jr.,  whose  original  work  at  the  Mt. 
Rose  Observatory  is  described  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  that 
purpose. 

Growing  at  elevations  of  from  6000  to  10,000  feet,  dis- 
playing a  profusion  of  white  flowers  sometimes  delicately 


284       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

tinged  with  light  purple  is  the  Phlox  Douglasiij  Hook.  It  is 
low  but  with  loose,  much-branched  prostrate  stems  and  re- 
markably stout,  almost  woody  roots. 

A  new  Alpine  willow  {Salix  Caespitosa)  has  also  been  dis- 
covered.    Professor  Kennedy  thus  writes  of  it: 

The  melting  snow,  as  it  comes  through  and  over  the 
rocks  in  the  nature  of  a  spring,  brings  with  it  particles  of 
sand  and  vegetation,  which  form  a  very  shallow  layer  of 
soil  on  a  flat  area  to  one  side  of  the  main  branch  of  the 
stream.  On  this  the  willow  branches  adhere  like  ivy, 
rooting  at  every  joint  and  interlaced  so  as  to  form  a  dense 
mat.  From  these,  erect  leafy  shoots,  one  or  two  inches 
high,  appear,  with  the  many  flowered  catkins  extending 
above  the  foliage.  The  pistillate  plants  occupy  separate 
but  adjacent  areas  to  the  staminate  ones. 


TALLAC,  LAKE  TAHOE 


I.OOKIXO    .\()K  111    l-i;()M    (  A\  I'.    KOI  K, 


\linl-: 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

THE   CHAPARRAL   OF   THE   TAHOE   REGION 

THE  word  chaparral  is  a  Spanish  word,  transferred 
bodily  into  our  language,  without,  however,  retain- 
ing its  strict  and  original  significance.  In  Spanish 
it  means  a  plantation  of  evergreen  oaks,  or,  thick  bramble- 
bushes  entangled  with  thorny  shrubs  in  clumps.  Hence,  in 
the  west,  it  has  come  to  mean  any  low  or  scrub  brush  that 
thickly  covers  a  hill  or  mountain-side.  As  there  is  a  varied 
chaparral  in  the  Tahoe  region,  it  is  well  for  the  visitor  to 
know  of  what  it  is  mainly  composed. 

Experience  has  demonstrated  that  where  the  larger  lum- 
ber is  cut  off  close  on  the  Sierran  slopes  of  the  Tahoe  region 
the  low  bushy  chaparral  at  once  takes  full  possession.  It 
seems  to  prevent  the  tree  seeds  from  growing  and  thus  is 
an  effectual  preventive  to  reforestation.  This,  however, 
is  generally  not  so  apparent  east  of  the  main  range  as  it  is  on 
the  western  slopes.  One  of  its  chief  elements  is  the  man- 
zanita  {Arctostaphylos  patula)  easily  distinguishable  by  the 
red  wood  of  its  stem  and  larger  branches,  glossy  leaves, 
waxen  blossoms  (when  in  flower)  and  green  or  red  berries 
in  the  early  autumn. 

The  snow-bush  abounds.  It  is  a  low  sage-green  bush,  very 
thorny,  hence  is  locally  called  "  bide-a-wee  "  from  the  name 
given  by  the  English  soldiers  to  a  very  thorny  bush  they  had 
to  encounter  during  the  Boer  War.  In  the  late  days  of 
spring  and  even  as  late  as  July  it  is  covered  with  a  white 
blossom  that  makes  it  glorious  and  attractive. 

285 


286       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Then  there  is  the  thimble-berry  with  its  big,  light  yellow, 
sprawling  leaves,  and  its  attractively  red,  thimble-shaped,  but 
rather  tasteless  berries.  The  Indians,  however,  are  very 
fond  of  them,  and  so  are  some  of  the  birds  and  animals,  like- 
wise of  the  service  berries,  which  look  much  like  the  blue- 
berry, though  their  flavor  is  not  so  choice! 

Here  and  there  patches  of  the  wild  gooseberry  add  to  the 
tangle  of  the  chaparral.  The  gooseberries  when  ripe  are 
very  red,  as  are  the  currants,  but  they  are  armored  with  a 
tough  skin  completely  covered  with  sharp,  hairy  thorns.  In 
Southern  California  all  the  fruit  of  the  wild  ribes  have  the 
thorns,  but  they  do  not  compare  in  penetrating  power  and 
strength  with  those  of  the  Tahoe  gooseberries. 

One  of  the  most  charming  features  of  the  chaparral  is 
the  mountain  ash,  especially  when  the  berries  are  ripe  and 
red.  The  Scotch  name  rowan  seems  peculiarly  appropriate. 
Even  while  the  berries  are  yellow  they  are  attractive  to  the 
eye,  and  alluring  to  the  birds,  but  when  they  become  red  they 
give  a  splendid  dash  of  rich  color  that  sets  off  the  whole 
mountain  side. 

The  mountain  mahogany  is  not  uncommon  {Cereocarpus 
parvifolius,  Nutt.)  and  though  its  green  flowers  are  incon- 
spicuous, its  long,  solitary  plumes  at  fruiting  time  attract  the 
eye. 

While  the  California  laurel  ( Umbellularia  Calif ornica, 
Nutt.)  often  grows  to  great  height,  it  is  found  in  chapar- 
ral clumps  on  the  mountain  sides.  It  is  commonly  known 
as  the  bay  tree,  on  account  of  the  bay-like  shape  and  odor  of 
its  leaves  when  crushed.  It  gives  a  spicy  fragrance  to  the 
air  and  is  always  welcome  to  those  who  know  it. 

In  many  places  throughout  the  mountains  of  the  Tahoe 
region  there  are  clumps  or  groves  of  wild  cherry  (Prunus 
Demissa,  Walpers),  the  cherries  generally  ripening  in  Sep- 
tember.    But  if  one  expects  the  ripe  red  wild  cherries  to  have 


CHAPARRAL  OF  THE  TAHOE  REGION       287 

any  of  the  delicious  richness  and  sweetness  of  the  ripe  Queen 
Anne  or  other  good  variety  he  is  doomed  to  sad  disappoint- 
ment. For  they  are  sour  and  bitter  —  bitter  as  quinine, — 
and  that  is  perhaps  the  reason  their  juice  has  been  extracted 
and  made  into  medicine  supposed  to  have  extraordinary  tonic 
and  healing  virtue. 

The  elder  is  often  found  {Sambucus  Glauca,  Nutt,),  some- 
times quite  tall  and  at  other  times  broken  down  by  the  snow, 
but  bravely  covering  its  bent  and  gnarled  trunks  and  branches 
with  dense  foliage  and  cream-white  blossom-clusters.  The 
berries  are  always  attractive  to  the  eye  in  their  purple  tint, 
with  the  creamy  blush  on  them,  and  happy  Is  that  traveler 
who  has  an  expert  make  for  him  an  elderberry  pie,  or  dis- 
till the  rich  cordial  the  berries  make. 

Another  feature  of  the  chaparral  often  occupies  the  field 
entirely  to  itself,  viz.,  the  chamisal  or  greasewood  {Adenos- 
toma  fasciculatum.  Hook,  and  Arn.).  Its  small  clustered 
and  needle-like  leaves,  richly  covered  with  large,  feathery 
panicles  of  tiny  blossoms,  give  it  an  appearance  not  unlike 
Scotch  heather,  and  make  a  mountainside  dainty  and  beauti- 
ful. 

The  California  buckeye  {Aesculus  Californica,  Nutt.)  is 
also  found,  especially  upon  stream  banks  or  on  the  moist 
slopes  of  the  canyons.  Its  light  gray  limbs,  broad  leaves,  and 
long,  white  flower-spikes  make  it  an  attractive  shrub  or  tree 
(for  it  often  reaches  forty  feet  in  height),  and  when  the 
leaves  drop,  as  they  do  early,  the  skeleton  presents  a  beau- 
tiful and  delicate  network  against  the  deep  azure  of  the  sky. 

Another  feature  of  the  chaparral  is  the  scrub  oak.  In  191 3 
the  bushes  were  almost  free  from  acorns.  They  generally 
appear  only  every  other  year,  and  when  they  do  bear  the 
crop  is  a  wonderfully  numerous  one. 

A  vast  amount  of  wild  lilac  {Ceanothus  Velutinus)  is 
found  on  all  the  slopes.     It  generally  blooms  in  June  and 


288       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

then  the  hillsides  are  one  fragrant  and  glowing  mass  of  vivid 
white  tinged  with  the  creamy  hue  that  adds  so  much  charm 
to  the  flowers. 

The  year  1913,  however,  was  a  peculiar  year,  throughout, 
for  plant  life.  In  the  middle  of  September  In  Page's 
Meadows  a  large  patch  of  ceanothus  was  in  full  bloom,  either 
revealing  a  remarkably  late  flowering,  or  a  second  effort  at 
beautification. 

Another  ceanothus,  commonly  called  mountain  birch,  is 
often  found.  When  in  abundance  and  in  full  flower  it 
makes  a  mountain  side  appear  as  If  covered  with  drifted 
snow. 

Willows  abound  In  the  canyons  and  on  the  mountains  of 
the  Tahoe  region,  and  they  are  an  invariable  sign  of  the 
near  presence  of  water. 

There  Is  scarcely  a  canyon  where  alders,  cottonwoods  and 
quaking  aspens  may  not  be  found.  In  19 13  either  the  lack 
of  water,  some  adverse  climatic  condition,  or  some  fungus 
blight  caused  the  aspen  leaves  to  blotch  and  fall  from  the 
trees  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  September.  As  a  rule  they 
remain  until  late  In  October,  changing  to  autumnal  tints  of 
every  richness  and  hue  and  reminding  one  of  the  glorious 
hues  of  the  eastern  maples  when  touched  by  the  first  frosts 
of  winter. 

To  one  used  to  exploring  dry  and  desert  regions,  such  as 
the  Colorado  and  Mohave  Deserts  of  Southern  California, 
the  Grand  Canyon  region,  the  Navajo  Reservation,  etc.,  in 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  the  constant  presence  of  water  in 
the  Tahoe  region  is  a  perpetual  delight.  Daily  in  my  trips 
here  I  have  wondered  at  the  absence  of  my  canteen  and 
sometimes  in  moments  of  forgetfulness  I  would  reach  for 
it,  and  be  almost  paralyzed  with  horror  not  to  find  It  in  its 
accustomed  place.  But  the  never-ending  joy  of  feeling  that 
one  could  start  out  for  a  day's  trip,  or  a  camping-out  expedi- 


CHAPARRAL  OF  THE  TAHOE  REGION       289 

tion  of  a  week  or  a  month  and  never  give  the  subject  of 
water  a  moment's  thought,  can  only  be  appreciated  by  those 
who  are  direfully  familiar  with  the  dependence  placed  upon 
the  canteen  in  less  favored  regions. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

HOW  TO  DISTINGUISH  THE  TREES  OF  THE  TAHOE  REGION 

BY  "  trees  "  in  this  chapter  I  mean  only  the  evergreen 
trees  —  the  pines,  firs,  spruces,  hemlocks,  cedars, 
junipers  and  tamaracks.  Many  visitors  like  to  know 
at  least  enough  when  they  are  looking  at  a  tree,  to  tell  which 
of  the  above  species  it  belongs  to.  All  I  aim  to  do  here  is 
to  seek  to  make  clear  the  distinguishing  features  of  the  vari- 
ous trees,  and  to  give  some  of  the  more  readily  discernible 
signs  of  the  different  varieties  of  the  same  species  found  in 
the  region. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  tree  growth  is  largely  de- 
pendent upon  soil  conditions.  The  soil  of  the  Tahoe  region 
is  chiefly  glacial  detritus. 

On  the  slopes  and  summits  of  the  ridges  it  is  sandy, 
gravelly,  and  liberally  strewn  with  masses  of  drift  bowlders. 
The  flats  largely  formed  of  silting  while  they  still  consti- 
tuted beds  of  lakes,  have  a  deep  soil  of  fine  sand  and  mold 
resting  on  coarse  gravel  and  bowlder  drift.  Ridges  com- 
posed of  brecciated  lavas,  which  crumble  easily  under  the 
influence  of  atmospheric  agencies,  are  covered  with  soil  two 
or  three  feet,  or  even  more,  in  depth,  where  gentle  slopes 
or  broad  saddles  have  favored  deposition  and  prevented 
washing.  The  granite  areas  of  the  main  range  and  else- 
where have  a  very  thin  soil.  The  flats  at  the  entrance  of 
small  streams  into  Lake  Tahoe  are  covered  with  deep  soil, 
owing  to  deposition  of  vegetable  matter  brought  from  the 
slopes  adjacent  to  their  channels.  As  a  whole,  the  soil  of 
the  region  is  of  sufficient  fertility  to  support  a  heavy  forest 
growth,    its   depth    depends   wholly   on    local   circumstances 

290 


HOW  TO  DISTINGUISH  THE  TREES       291 

favoring  washing  and  removal  of  the  soil  elements  as  fast 
as  formed,  or  holding  them  in  place  and  compelling  accu- 
mulations/ 

Coniferous  species  of  trees  constitute  fully  ninety-five  per 
cent,  of  the  arborescent  growth  in  the  region.  The  remain- 
ing five  per  cent,  consists  mostly  of  different  species  of  oak, 
ash,  maple,  mountain-mahogany,  aspen,  cottonwood,  Cali- 
fornia buckeye,  western  red-bud,  arborescent  willows,  alders, 
etc. 

Of  the  conifers  the  species  are  as  follows:  yellow  pine, 
pinus  ponderosa;  Jeffrey  pine,  pinus  jeffreyi;  sugar  pine,  pinus 
lambertiana;  lodge-pole  pine,  pinus  murrayana;  white  pine, 
pinus  monticola;  digger  pine,  pinus  sabiniana;  white-bark 
pine,  pinus  albicaulis;  red  fir,  pseudotsuga  taxifolia;  white  fir, 
abies  concolor;  Shasta  fir,  abies  magnifica;  patton  hemlock 
or  alpine  spruce,  tsuga  pattoniana;  incense  cedar,  libocedrus 
decurrens;  western  juniper,  juniperus  occidentalis;  yew,  taxus 
brevifolia. 

The  range  and  chief  characteristic  of  these  trees,  generally 
speaking,  are  as  follows: 

Digger  Pine.  This  is  seldom  found  in  the  Tahoe  region, 
except  in  the  lower  reaches  of  the  canyons  on  the  west  side 
of  the  range.  It  is  sometimes  known  as  the  Nut  Pine,  for 
it  bears  a  nut  of  which  the  natives  are  very  fond.  It  has 
two  cone  forms,  one  in  which  the  spurs  point  straight  down, 
the  other  in  which  they  are  more  or  less  curved  at  the  tip. 
They  grow  to  a  height  of  forty  to  fifty  and  occasionally  ninety 
feet  high;  with  open  crown  and  thin  gray  foliage. 

Western  Juniper.  This  is  a  typical  tree  of  the  arid  re- 
gions east  of  the  Sierra,  yet  it  is  to  be  found  scattered 
throughout  the  Tahoe  country,  generally  at  an  elevation  be- 
tween five  thousand  and  eight  thousand  feet.     It  ranges  in 

1  John  B.  Lelberg,  in  Forest  Conditions  in  the  Northern  Sierra 
Nevada. 


292       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

height  from  ten  to  twenty-five  or  even  sixty-five  feet. 
Its  dull  red  bark,  which  shreds  or  flakes  easily,  its  berries, 
which  begin  a  green  color,  shade  through  to  gray,  and  when 
ripe  are  a  rich  purple,  make  it  readily  discernible.  It  is  a 
characteristic  feature  of  the  scenery  at  timber  line  in  many 
Tahoe  landscapes. 

With  the  crowns  beaten  by  storms  Into  irregular  shapes, 
often  dead  on  one  side  but  flourishing  on  the  other,  the  tops 
usually  dismantled  and  the  trunks  excessively  thickened  at 
base,  such  figures,  whether  erect,  half  overthrown  or  w^hoUy 
crouching,  are  the  most  picturesque  of  mountain  trees  and 
are  frequently  of  very  great  age. —  Jepson. 

Yew.  This  is  not  often  found  and  then  only  in  the  west 
canyons  above  the  main  range.  It  is  a  small  and  insignifi- 
cant tree,  rarely  exceeding  forty  feet  in  height.  It  has  a 
thin  red-brown  smooth  bark  which  becomes  shreddy  as  it 
flakes  off  in  thin  and  rather  small  pieces.  The  seeds  are 
borne  on  the  under  side  of  the  sprays  and  when  mature  set 
in  a  fleshy  scarlet  cup,  the  whole  looking  like  a  brilliantly 
colored  berry  five  or  six  inches  long.  They  ripen  in  July 
or  August. 

Incense  Cedar.  This  is  commonly  found  all  over  the  re- 
gion at  elevations  below  7500  feet,  though  its  chief  habitat 
is  at  elevations  of  35CX)  to  6cxx>  feet.  It  grows  to  a  height 
of  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  with  a  strongly  conical 
trunk,  very  thick  at  the  base,  and  gradually  diminishing  in 
size  upward.  The  bark  is  thick,  red-brown,  loose  and  fibrous, 
and  when  the  tree  is  old,  broken  into  prominent  heavy  longi- 
tudinal furrows.  The  cones  are  red-brown,  oblong-ovate 
when  closed,  three-fourths  to  an  inch  long. 

Shasta  Fir.  This  is  found  on  the  summits,  slopes  and 
shores  of  Lake  Tahoe,  and  to  levels  6200  feet  in  elevation 
on  the  slopes  and  summits  directly  connected  with  the  main 
range.     It  is  found  along  the  Mount   Pluto   ridge.     It  is 


HOW  TO  DISTINGUISH  THE  TREES       293 

essentially  a  tree  of  the  mountains,  where  the  annual  pre- 
cipitation ranges  from  fifty  inches  upward.  In  the  Tahoe 
region  it  is  locally  known  as  the  red  fir.  Sometimes  it  is 
called  the  red  bark  fir  and  golden  fir.  It  grows  from  sixty 
to  even  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  high  with  trunk 
one  to  five  feet  in  diameter  and  a  narrowly  cone-shaped 
crown  composed  of  numerous  horizontal  strata  of  fan-shaped 
sprays.  The  bark  on  young  trees  is  whitish  or  silvery,  on 
old  trunks  dark  red,  very  deeply  and  roughly  fissured.  The 
cones  when  young  are  of  a  beautiful  dull  purple,  when  ma- 
ture becoming  brown. 

White  Pine.  This  is  found  on  northern  slopes  as  low 
down  as  6500  feet,  though  it  generally  ranges  above  7000 
feet,  and  is  quite  common.  It  sometimes  is  called  the  sil- 
ver pine,  and  generally  in  the  Tahoe  region,  the  mountain 
pine.  It  grows  to  a  height  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  feet,  the  branches  slender  and  spreading  or 
somewhat  drooping,  and  mostly  confined  to  the  upper  por- 
tion of  the  shaft.  The  trunk  is  from  one  to  six  feet  in  di- 
ameter and  clothed  with  a  very  smooth  though  slightly 
checked  whitish  or  reddish  bark.  The  needles  are  five  (rarely 
four)  in  a  place,  very  slender,  one  to  three  and  three-fourths 
inches  long,  sheathed  at  the  base  by  thinnish  narrow  de- 
ciduous scales,  some  of  which  are  one  inch  long.  The  cones 
come  in  clusters  of  one  to  seven,  from  six  to  eight  or  rarely 
ten  inches  long,  very  slender  when  closed  and  usually  curved 
towards  the  tip,  black-purple  or  green  when  young,  buff- 
brown  when  ripe.  It  is  best  recognized  by  its  light-gray 
smooth  bark,  broken  into  squarish  plates,  its  pale-blue-green 
foliage  composed  of  short  needles,  and  its  pendulous  cones 
so  slender  as  to  give  rise  to  the  name  "  Finger-Cone  Pine." 

Sugar  Pine.  This  is  found  on  the  lower  terraces  of  Ta- 
hoe, fringing  the  region  with  a  sparse  and  scattering  growth, 
but  it  is  not  found  on  the  higher  slopes  of  the  Sierra.     On 


294       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

the  western  side  its  range  is  nearly  identical  with  that  of 
the  red  fir.  It  grows  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  high,  the  young  and  adult  trees  symmetrical,  but  the 
aged  trees  commonly  with  broken  summits  or  characteristi- 
cally flat-topped  with  one  or  two  long  arm-like  branches  ex- 
ceeding shorter  ones.  The  trunk  is  from  two  to  eight  feet 
in  diameter,  and  the  bark  brown  or  reddish,  closely  fissured 
into  rough  ridges.  The  needles  are  slender,  five  in  a  bundle, 
two  to  three  and  a  half  inches  long.  The  cones  are  pendu- 
lous, borne  on  stalks  at  the  end  of  the  branches,  mostly  in  the 
very  summit  of  the  tree,  very  long-oblong,  thirteen  to 
eighteen  inches  long,  four  to  six  inches  in  diameter  when 
opened. 

This  pine  gains  its  name  from  its  sugary  exudation, 
sought  by  the  native  tribes,  which  forms  hard  white  crys- 
tallized nodules  on  the  upper  side  of  fire  or  ax  wounds  in  the 
wood.  This  flow  contains  resin,  is  manna-like,  has  ca- 
thartic properties,  and  is  as  sweet  as  cane-sugar.  The  seeds 
are  edible.  Although  very  small  they  are  more  valued  by 
the  native  tribes  than  the  large  seeds  of  the  Digger  Pine 
on  account  of  their  better  flavor.  In  former  days,  when  it 
came  October,  the  Indians  went  to  the  high  mountains 
about  their  valleys  to  gather  the  cones.  They  camped 
on  the  ridges  where  the  sugar  pines  grow  and  celebrated 
their  sylvan  journey  by  tree-climbing  contests  among  the 
men.  In  these  latter  days,  being  possessed  of  the  white 
man's  ax,  they  find  it  more  convenient  to  cut  the  tree  down. 
It  is  undoubtedly  the  most  remarkable  of  all  pines,  viewed 
either  from  the  standpoint  of  its  economic  value  or  sylvan 
interest.  It  is  the  largest  of  pine  trees,  considered  whether 
as  to  weight  or  girth,  and  more  than  any  other  tree  gives 
beauty  and  distinction  to  the  Sierran  forest. —  Jepson. 

The  long  cones  found  in  abundance  about  Tahoe  Tavern 
are  those  of  the  sugar  pine. 

Yellow  Pine  and  Jeffrey  Pine.     These  are  practically  one 


HOW  TO  DISTINGUISH  THE  TREES       295 

and  the  same,  though  the  latter  is  generally  regarded  as  a 
variety  and  the  former  the  type.     Mr.  Leiberg  says: 

The  two  forms  differ  chiefly  in  the  size  of  the  cones,  in 
the  tint  and  odor  of  the  foliage,  and  in  the  color  and  thick- 
ness of  the  bark,  differences  which  are  insufficient  to  con- 
stitute specific  characters.  The  most  conspicuous  of  the 
above  differences  is  that  in  the  size  of  the  cones,  which  may 
seemingly  hold  good  if  only  a  few  hundred  trees  are  ex- 
amined. But  when  one  comes  to  deal  with  thousands  of 
individuals  the  distinction  vanishes.  It  is  common  to  find 
trees  of  the  Jeffrey  type  as  to  foliage  and  bark  that  bear 
the  big  cones,  and  the  characteristic  smaller  cones  of  the 
typical  yellow  pine,  both  at  the  same  time  and  on  the  same 
individual,  while  old  cones  strewn  about  on  the  ground  in- 
dicate that  in  some  seasons  trees  of  the  Jeffrey  type  produce 
only  small-sized  cones.  The  odor  and  the  color  of  leaves 
and  bark  are  more  or  less  dependent  on  soil  conditions  and 
the  inherent  vitality  of  the  individual  tree,  and  the  same 
characters  are  found  in  specimens  belonging  to  the  yellow 
and  Jeffrey  pine.  It  is  noticeable  that  the  big-cone  variety 
preferably  grows  at  considerable  elevation  and  on  rocky 
sterile  ground,  while  the  typical  form  of  the  yellow  pine 
prevails  throughout  the  lower  regions  and  on  tracts  with  a 
more  generous  soil. 

The  yellow  pine  has  a  wider  range  than  any  other  of  the 
Tahoe  conifers,  though  on  the  high,  rocky  areas,  south  and 
west  of  Rubicon  Springs  it  is  lacking.  It  crosses  from  the 
western  slopes  to  the  eastern  sides  of  the  Sierras  and  down 
into  the  Tahoe  basin  over  the  heads  of  Miller  and  McKin- 
ney  Creeks,  in  both  places  as  a  thin  line,  or  rather  as  scat- 
tering trees  mixed  with  Shasta  fir  and  white  pine. 

It  grows  from  sixty  to  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet 
high  with  trunk  two  to  nine  feet  in  diameter.  The  limbs  in 
mature  trees  are  horizontal  or  even  drooping.  The  bark  of 
typical  trees  is  tawny  yellow  or  yellow-brown,  divided  by  fis- 
sures into  large  smoothish  or  scaly-surfaced  plates  which  are 
often  one  to  four  feet  long  and  one-half  to  one  and  a  quarter 


296       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

feet  wide.     The  needles  are  in  threes,  five  to  ten  inches  long ; 
the  cones  reddish  brown. 

It  must  be  noted,  too,  that  "  the  bark  is  exceedingly  vari- 
able, black-barked  or  brown-barked  trees,  roughly  or  nar- 
rowly fissured,  are  very  common  and  in  their  extreme  forms 
very  different  in  trunk  appearance  from  the  typical  or  most- 
abundant  '  turtle-back '  form  with  broad,  yellow  or  light 
brown  plates." — Jcpson. 

Lodge  Pole  Pine.  The  range  of  this  tree  is  almost  identi- 
cal with  that  of  the  Shasta  fir,  though  here  and  there  it  is 
found  at  as  low  an  altitude  as  4500  feet.  It  loves  the  mar- 
gins of  creeks,  glades  and  lakes  situated  at  altitudes  of  6000 
feet  and  upward,  where  it  usually  forms  a  fringe  of  nearly 
pure  growth  in  the  wet  and  swampy  portions  of  the  ground. 
In  the  Tahoe  region  it  is  invariably  called  a  tamarack  or  tama- 
rack pine.  It  is  a  symmetrical  tree  commonly  reaching  as 
high  as  fifty  to  eighty  feet,  but  occasionally  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet.  When  stunted,  however,  it  is  only  a  few 
feet.  The  bark  is  remarkably  thin,  rarely  more  than  one 
quarter  inch  thick,  light  gray  in  color,  very  smooth  but  flak- 
ing into  small  thin  scales.  There  are  only  two  needles  to  a 
bunch,  in  a  sheath,  one  and  a  half  to  two  and  three  quarters 
inches  long.  The  cones  are  chestnut  brown,  one  to  one  and 
three  quarters  inches  long. 

It  is  when  sleeping  under  the  lodge  pole  pines  that  you  be- 
gin to  appreciate  their  perfect  charm  and  beauty.  You  un- 
roll your  blankets  at  the  foot  of  a  stately  tree  at  night,  un- 
conscious and  careless  as  to  what  tree  it  is.  During  the 
night,  when  the  moon  is  at  the  full,  you  awaken  and  look 
up  into  a  glory  of  shimmering  light.  The  fine  tapering 
shape,  the  delicate  fairy-like  beauty,  instantly  appeal  to  the 
sensitive  soul  and  he  feels  he  is  in  a  veritable  temple  of 
beauty. 

They  are  very  sensitive  trees.     In  many  places  a  mere 


HOW  TO  DISTINGUISH  THE  TREES       297 

grass  fire,  quick  and  very  fierce  for  a  short  time,  has  destroyed 
quite  a  number. 

PFhite  Fir.  This  follows  closely  the  range  of  the  incense 
cedar,  though  in  some  places  it  is  found  as  high  as  8700  feet. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  perfect  trees  in  the  Sierras.  Ranging 
from  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  and  even  two  hundred 
feet  high,  with  a  narrow  crown  composed  of  flat  sprays  and  a 
trunk  naked  for  one-third  to  one-half  its  height  and  from 
one  to  six  feet  in  diameter,  with  a  smooth  bark,  silvery  or 
whitish  in  young  trees,  becoming  thick  and  heavily  fissured 
into  rounded  ridges  on  old  trunks,  and  gray  or  drab-brown 
in  color,  it  is  readily  distinguishable,  with  its  companion,  the 
red  fir,  by  the  regularity  of  construction  of  trunk,  branch 
and  branchlet.  As  Smeaton  Chase  expresses  it,  "  The  fine 
smooth  arms,  set  in  regular  formation,  divide  and  redivide 
again  and  again  ad  infinitum,  weaving  at  last  into  a  maze  of 
exquisitely  symmetrical  twigs  and  branchlets." 

Red  Fir.  The  range  of  the  red  fir  is  irregular.  It  occurs 
on  the  Rubicon  River  and  some  of  the  headwaters  of  the 
west-flowing  streams,  reaching  a  general  height  of  6000  feet, 
though  it  is  occasionally  found  as  high  as  7000  feet.  In 
some  parts  of  California  this  is  known  as  Douglas  Spruce, 
and  Jepson,  in  his  Silva  of  California  definitely  states: 

The  name  "  fir  "  as  applied  to  the  species  is  so  well  estab- 
lished among  woodsmen  that  for  the  sake  of  intelligibility 
the  combination  Douglas  Fir,  which  prevents  confusion 
with  the  true  firs  and  has  been  adopted  by  the  Pacific  Coast 
Lumberman's  Association,  is  here  accepted,  notwithstand- 
ing that  the  name  used  by  botanists,  "  Douglas  Spruce  "  is 
actually  more  fitting  on  account  of  the  greater  number  of 
spruce-like  characteristics.  It  is  neither  true  spruce,  fir, 
nor  hemlock,  but  a  marked  type  of  a  distinct  genus,  namely, 
pseudotsuga. 

It  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  red  silver  fir  {Abies 
Magnifica)  so  eloquently  described  as  the  chief  delight  of  the 


298       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Yosemite  region  by  Smeaton  Chase.  It  grows  from  seventy 
to  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  possibly  three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  high,  and  is  the  most  important  lumber  tree  of  the  coun- 
try, considering  the  quality  of  its  timber,  the  size  and  length 
of  its  logs,  and  the  great  amount  of  heavy  wood  and  freedom 
from  knots,  shakes  or  defects.  On  young  trees  the  bark  is 
smooth,  gray  or  mottled,  sometimes  alder-like;  on  old  trunks 
one  to  six  and  a  half  inches  thick,  soft  or  putty-like,  dark 
brown,  fissured  into  broad  heavy  furrows.  The  young  rapid 
growth  in  the  open  woods  produces  "  red  fir,"  the  older 
slower  growth  in  denser  woods  is  "  yellow  fir."  Every  tree 
to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent  exhibits  successively  these  two 
phases,  which  are  dependent  upon  situation  and  exposure. 

The  chief  difference  between  the  white  and  red  fir  is  in  the 
spiculae  or  leaves.  Those  of  the  red  fir  are  shorter,  stubbier 
and  stiffer  than  those  of  the  white.  The  bark,  however,  is 
pretty  nearly  alike  in  young  trees  and  shows  a  marked  dif- 
ference when  they  get  to  be  forty  to  fifty  years  old. 

The  Alpine  Spruce  {Hesperopeuce  Pattoniana  Lemmon)  is 
found  only  in  the  highest  elevations.  Common  in  Alaska  it 
is  limited  in  the  Tahoe  region  to  the  upper  points  of  forests 
that  creep  up  along  glacier  beds  and  volcanic  ravines,  close 
to  perpetual  ice.  It  disappears  at  10,000  feet  altitude  on 
Mt.  Whitney  and  is  found  nowhere  south  of  this  point.  On 
Tallac,  Mt.  Rose  and  all  the  higher  peaks  of  the  Tahoe  re- 
gion it  is  common,  giving  constant  delight  with  its  slender 
shaft,  eighty  to  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  with  a  diameter  at 
its  base  of  from  six  to  twelve  feet.  It  is  only  in  the  lower 
portions  of  the  belt  where  it  occurs.  Higher  it  is  reduced 
to  low  conical  masses  of  foliage  or  prostrate  creeping  shrubs. 

By  many  it  is  regarded  as  a  hemlock,  but  it  is  not  strictly 
so.  It  was  first  discovered  in  1852  by  John  Jeffrey,  who  fol- 
lowed David  Douglas  in  his  explorations  of  the  forests  of  the 
American  Northwest. 


HOW  TO  DISTINGUISH  THE  TREES       299 

In  favorable  situations,  the  lower  limbs  are  retained  and 
become  long,  out-reaching,  and  spreading  over  the  moun- 
tain slope  for  many  feet;  the  upper  limbs  are  irregularly 
disposed,  not  whorled ;  they  strike  downward  from  the  start 
(so  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  climb  one  of  the  trees  for 
want  of  foothold),  then  curving  outward  to  the  outline  of 
the  tree,  they  are  terminated  by  short,  hairy  branchlets  that 
decline  gracefully,  and  are  decorated  with  pendant  cones 
which  are  glaucous  purple  until  maturity,  then  leather 
brown,  with  reflexed  scales. 

The  main  stem  sends  out  strong  ascending  shoots,  the 
leading  one  terminating  so  slenderly  as  to  bend  from  side 
to  side  with  its  many  purple  pendants  before  the  wind,  and 
shimmering  in   the   sunlight  with   rare   beauty. —  Lemmon. 

On  the  slopes  of  Mt.  Rose  near  timber  line,  which  ranges 
from  9700  to  10,000  feet  according  to  exposures,  while  still 
a  tree  of  considerable  size,  it  loses  its  symmetrical  appearance. 
Professor  Kennedy  says: 

BufFeted  by  the  fierce  winter  winds  and  snows,  the 
branches  on  the  west  side  of  the  tree  are  either  entirely 
wanting  or  very  short  and  gnarled,  and  the  bark  is  com- 
monly denuded.  Unlike  its  associate,  Pinus  Albicaulis, 
which  is  abundant  as  a  prostrate  shrub  far  above  timber 
line,  the  spruce  is  rarely  encountered  above  timber  line  at 
this  place,  but  here  and  there  a  hardy  individual  may  be 
found  lurking  among  the  pines.  The  greatest  elevation  at 
which  it  was  noticed  is   10,500  feet. 

To  me  this  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  Sierran  trees. 
Its  delicate  silvery  hue,  and  the  rarely  exquisite  shading  from 
the  old  growth  to  the  new,  its  gracefulness,  the  quaint  and 
fascinating  tilt  of  its  tip  which  waveringly  bends  over  in 
obedience  to  whichever  breeze  is  blowing  makes  it  the  most 
alluringly  feminine  of  all  the  trees  of  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  differences  in  the  cones,  and 
in  the  way  they  grow;  singly,  in  clusters,  at  the  end  of 
branches,  on  the  stems,  large,  medium-sized,  small,  short  and 


300       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

stubbj^  long  and  slender,  conical,  etc.  Then,  too,  while  the 
pines  generally  have  cones  every  year,  the  firs  seem  to  miss 
a  year,  and  to  bear  only  alternate  years. 

The  gray  squirrels  are  often  great  reapers  of  the  cones, 
before  they  are  ripe.  They  cut  them  down  and  then  eat  off 
the  tips  of  the  scales  so  that  they  present  a  pathetically 
stripped  appearance. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

THE    BIRDS    AND    ANIMALS   OF   THE   TAHOE   REGION 

BIRDS.  The  bird  life  of  the  Tahoe  region  does  not 
seem  particularly  interesting  or  impressive  to  the 
casual  observer.  At  first  sight  there  are  not  many 
birds,  and  those  that  do  appear  have  neither  so  vivid  plumage 
nor  sweet  song  as  their  feathered  relatives  of  the  east,  south 
and  west.  Nevertheless  there  are  several  interesting  species, 
and  while  this  chapter  makes  no  pretense  to  completeness  it 
suggests  what  one  untrained  observer  without  birds  particu- 
larly on  his  mind  has  witnessed  in  the  course  of  his  several 
trips  to  the  Tahoe  region. 

It  soon  becomes  evident  that  altitude  has  much  to  do  with 
bird  life,  some,  as  the  meadow-lark  and  blackbird  never  be- 
ing found  higher  than  the  Lake  shore,  others  at  the  interme- 
diate elevations  where  the  Alpine  hemlock  thrives,  while  still 
others,  such  as  the  rosy  finch  and  the  rock-wren,  are  found 
only  on  the  highest  and  most  craggy  peaks. 

While  water  birds  are  not  numerous  in  the  summer,  observ- 
ant visitors  at  Lake  Tahoe  for  the  first  time  are  generally  sur- 
prised to  find  numbers  of  sea  gulls.  They  fly  back  and  forth, 
however,  to  and  from  their  native  haunts  by  the  sea.  They 
never  raise  their  young  here,  generally  making  their  return 
flight  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  in  September,  October  and 
at  latest  November,  to  come  back  in  March  and  April. 
While  out  on  the  mountain  in  these  months,  fifty  or  more 
miles  west  of  Lake  Tahoe  I  have  seen  them,  high  in  the  air, 
flying  straight  to  the  place  they  desired. 

The  blue  heron  in  its  solitary  and  stately  watchfulness  is 

301 


3oa       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

occasionally  seen,  and  again  etches  itself  like  a  Japanese  pic- 
ture against  the  pure  blue  of  the  sky.  The  American  bit- 
tern is  also  seen  rarely. 

Kingfishers  are  found,  both  on  the  lakes  and  streams.  It 
is  fascinating  to  watch  them  unobserved,  perched  on  a  twig, 
as  motionless  as  if  petrified,  until,  suddenly,  their  prey  is 
within  grasp,  and  with  a  sudden  splash  is  seized. 

On  several  of  the  lakes,  occasionally  on  bays  of  Tahoe  it- 
self, and  often  in  the  marshy  lands  and  sloughs  of  the  Upper 
Truckee,  near  Tallac,  ducks,  mallard  and  teal  are  found. 
Mud  chickens  in  abundance  are  also  found  pretty  nearly 
everywhere  all  through  the  year. 

The  weird  cry  of  the  loon  is  not  infrequently  heard  on 
some  of  the  lakes,  and  one  of  these  latter  is  named  Loon  Lake 
from  the  fact  that  several  were  found  there  for  a  number  i! 
of  years. 

Flocks  of  white  pelicans  are  sometimes  seen.  Blackbirds  i| 
of  two  or  three  kinds  are  found  in  the  marshes,  also  killdeer, 
jacksnipe  and  the  ever  active  and  interesting  spotted  sand- 
pipers. A  few  meadow-larks  now  and  again  are  heard  sing- 
ing their  exquisite  song,  reminding  one  of  Browning's  wise 
thrush  which  "  sings  each  song  twice  over,  lest  you  should 
think  he  cannot  recapture  that  first  fine  careless  rapture." 

Doves  are  not  common,  but  now  and  again  one  may  hear 
their  sweet  melancholy  song,  telling  us  in  Joaquin  Miller's 
poetic  and  exquisite  interpretation: 

There  are  many  to-morrows,  my  love,  my  love, 
But  only  one  to-day. 

In  the  summer  robins  are  frequently  seen.  Especially  do 
they  revel  on  the  lawns  at  Tahoe  Tavern,  their  red-breasts 
and  their  peculiar  "  smithing  "  or  "  cokeing  "  just  as  alluring 
and  interesting  as  the  plumage  and  voices  of  the  richer 
feathered  and  finer  songsters  of  the  bird  family. 

Mountain  quails  are  quite  common,  and  one  sometimes  sees 


THE  BIRDS  AND  ANIMALS  303 

a  dozen  flocks  In  a  day.  Grouse  are  fairly  plentiful.  One 
day  just  on  the  other  side  of  Granite  Chief  Peak  a  fine  speci- 
men sailed  up  and  out  from  the  trail  at  our  very  feet,  soared 
for  quite  a  distance,  as  straight  as  a  bullet  to  its  billet  for  a 
cluster  of  pine  trees,  and  there  hid  in  the  branches.  My 
guide  walked  down,  gun  in  hand,  ready  to  shoot,  and  as  he 
came  nearer,  two  others  dashed  up  in  disconcerting  sudden- 
ness and  flew,  one  to  the  right,  the  other  to  the  left.  We 
never  got  a  sight  of  any  of  them  again. 

At  another  time  I  was  coming  over  by  Split  Crag  from  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  with  Mr.  Price,  of  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge, 
when  two  beautiful  grouse  arose  from  the  trail  and  soared 
away  in  their  characteristic  style. 

At  one  time  sage-hens  were  not  infrequent  on  the  Nevada 
side  of  the  Lake,  and  as  far  west  as  Brockways.  Indeed  it 
used  to  be  a  common  thing  for  hunters,  in  the  early  days,  to 
come  from  Truckee,  through  Martis  Valley,  to  the  Hot 
Springs  (as  Brockways  was  then  named)  and  shoot  sage-hens 
all  along  the  way.  A  few  miles  north  of  Truckee,  Sage  Hen 
Creek  still  preserves,  in  the  name,  the  fact  that  the  sage-hen 
was  well  known  there. 

Bald-headed  and  golden  eagles  are  often  seen  in  easy  and 
circular  flight  above  the  highest  peaks.  In  the  fall  and  winter 
they  pass  over  into  the  wild  country  near  the  almost  inaccess- 
ible peaks  above  the  American  River  and  there  raise  their 
young.  One  year  Mr.  Price  observed  a  pair  of  golden  eagles 
which  nested  on  Mt.  Tallac.  He  and  I  were  seated  at  lunch 
one  day  in  September,  19 13,  on  the  very  summit  of  Pyramid 
Peak,  when,  suddenly,  as  a  bolt  out  of  a  clear  sky,  startling 
us  with  its  wild  rush,  an  eagle  shot  obliquely  at  us  from  the 
upper  air.  The  speed  with  which  it  fell  made  a  noise  as  of 
a  "rushing  mighty  wind."  Down!  down,  it  fell,  and  then 
with  the  utmost  grace  imaginable,  swept  up,  still  going  at  ter- 
rific speed,  circled  about,  and  was  soon  lost  to  sight. 


304       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

Almost  as  fond  of  the  wind-tossed  pines  high  up  on  the 
slopes  of  the  mountain  as  is  the  eagle  of  the  most  rugged  peaks, 
is  Clark's  crow,  a  grayish  white  bird,  with  black  wings,  and 
a  harsh,  rasping  call,  somewhat  between  that  of  a  crow  and 
the  jay. 

Of  an  entirely  dififerent  nature,  seldom  seen  except  on  the 
topmost  peaks,  is  the  rosy-headed  finch.  While  on  the  sum- 
mit of  Pyramid  Peak,  we  saw  two  of  them,  and  one  of  them 
favored  us  with  his  (or  her)  sweet,  gentle  song. 

Hawks  are  quite  common;  among  those  generally  seen  are 
the  long  tailed  grouse-hawk,  the  sparrow  hawk,  and  the  sharp- 
shinned  hawk.  Night-hawks  are  quite  conspicuous,  if  one 
walks  about  after  sunset.  They  are  dusky  with  a  white 
throat  and  band  on  the  wing.  They  sail  through  the  air 
without  any  effort,  wings  outspread  and  beak  wide  open,  and 
thus  glean  their  harvest  of  winged  insects  as  they  skim  along. 
Oftentimes  their  sudden  swoop  will  startle  you  as  they  rush 
by. 

Woodpeckers  are  numerous,  and  two  or  three  species  may 
be  seen  almost  anywhere  in  a  day's  walk  through  one  of  the 
wooded  sections.  Many  are  the  trees  which  bear  evidence  of 
their  industry,  skill  and  providence.  The  huge  crow-like 
pileolated  woodpecker  with  its  scarlet  crest,  the  red-shafted 
flicker,  the  Sierra  creeper,  the  red-breasted  sap-sucker,  Wil- 
liamson's sap-sucker,  the  white-headed  woodpecker,  Cabanis's 
woodpecker  with  spotted  wings  and  gray  breast,  the  most  com- 
mon of  woodpeckers,  and  Lewis's  woodpecker,  a  large  heavy 
bird,  glossy  black  above,  with  a  white  collar  and  a  rich  red 
underpart,  have  all  been  seen  for  many  years  in  succession. 

The  red-breasted  sap-sucker  and  Williamson's  sap-sucker 
are  found  most  frequently  among  the  aspens  and  willows 
along  the  lake  shore,  while  the  red-shafted  flicker,  Cabanis's 
woodpecker,  and  the  white-head  favor  the  woods.  One  ob- 
server says  the  slender-billed  nut-hatch  is  much  more  common 


THE  BIRDS  AND  ANIMALS  305 

than  the  red-breasted,  and  that  his  nasal  laugh  resounded  at 
all  times  through  the  pines. 

High  up  in  the  hemlock  forests  is  the  interesting  Alpine 
three-toed  woodpecker.  It  looks  very  much  like  Cabanis's, 
only  it  has  three  toes  in  place  of  four,  and  a  yellow  crown 
instead  of  a  black  and  red  one. 

In  importance  after  the  woodpeckers  come  the  members  of 
the  sparrow  family  that  inhabit  the  Tahoe  region.  The 
little  black-headed  snowbird,  Thurber's  junco,  is  the  most 
common  of  all  the  Tahoe  birds.  The  thick-billed  sparrow, 
a  grayish  bird  with  spotted  breast  and  enormous  bill  is  found 
on  all  the  brushy  hillsides  and  is  noted  for  its  glorious  bursts 
of  rich  song. 

Now  and  again  one  will  see  a  flock  of  English  sparrows, 
and  the  sweet-voiced  song-sparrow  endeavors  to  make  up  for 
the  vulgarity  of  its  English  cousin  by  the  delicate  softness  of 
its  peculiar  song. 

Others  of  the  family  are  the  two  purple  finches  (reddish 
birds),  the  pine-finch,  very  plain  and  streaked,  the  green- 
tailed  towhee,  with  its  cat-like  call,  and  the  white-crowned 
sparrow, —  its  sweetly  melancholy  song,  "  Oh,  dear  me,"  in 
falling  cadence,  is  heard  in  every  Sierran  meadow. 

The  mountain  song-sparrow,  western  lark,  western  chip- 
ping-fox,  gold-finch,  and  house-  and  cassin-finches  are  seen. 
The  fly-catchers  are  omnipresent  in  August,  though  their  shy 
disposition  makes  them  hard  to  identify.  Hammond,  olive- 
sided  and  western  pewee  are  often  seen,  and  at  times  the  tall 
tree-tops  are  alive  with  kinglets. 

Some  visitors  complain  that  they  do  not  often  see  or  hear 
the  warblers,  but  in  1905,  one  bird-lover  reported  seven  com- 
mon representatives.     She  says: 

The  yellow  bird  was  often  heard  and  seen  in  the  willows 
along  the  Lake.  Late  in  August  the  shrubs  on  the  shore 
were  alive  with  the  Audubon  group,  which  is  so  abundant 


3o6      THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

in  the  vicinity  of  Los  Angeles  all  winter.  Plleolated  war- 
blers, with  rich  yellow  suits  and  black  caps,  hovered  like 
hummers  among  the  low  shrubs  in  the  woods.  Now  and 
then  a  Pacific  yellow-throat  sang  his  bewitching  "  wichity 
wichity,  wichity,  wee."  Hermit  and  black-throated  gray 
warblers  were  also  recorded.  The  third  week  in  August 
there  was  an  extensive  immigration  of  Macgillivray  war- 
blers. Their  delicate  gray  heads,  yellow  underparts,  and  the 
bobbing  movement  of  the  tail,  distinguished  them  from  the 
others. 

The  water  ouzel  finds  congenial  habitat  in  the  canyons  of 
the  Tahoe  region,  and  the  careful  observer  may  see  scores  of 
them  as  he  walks  along  the  streams  and  by  the  cascades  and 
waterfalls  during  a  summer's  season.  At  one  place  they  are 
so  numerous  as  to  have  led  to  the  naming  of  a  beautiful  water- 
fall. Ouzel  Falls,  after  them.  Another  bird  is  much  sought 
after  and  can  be  seen  and  heard  here,  perhaps  as  often  as  any 
other  place  in  the  country.  That  is  the  hermit  thrush,  small, 
delicate,  grayish,  with  spotted  breast.  The  shyness  of  the 
bird  is  proverbial,  and  it  frequents  the  deepest  willow  and 
aspen  thickets.  Once  heard,  its  sweet  song  can  never  be  for- 
gotten, and  happy  is  he  who  can  get  near  enough  to  hear  it 
undisturbed.  Far  off,  it  is  flute-like,  pure  and  penetrating, 
though  not  loud.  Gradually  it  softens  until  it  sounds  but 
as  the  faintest  of  tinkling  bell-like  notes,  which  die  away 
leaving  one  with  the  assurance  that  he  has  been  hearing  the 
song  of  the  chief  bird  of  the  fairies,  or  of  birds  which  accom- 
pany the  heavenly  lullabies  of  the  mother  angels  putting  their 
baby  angels  to  sleep. 

Cliff-swallows  often  nest  on  the  high  banks  at  Tahoe  City, 
and  a  fe^v  have  been  seen  nesting  under  the  eaves  of  the  store 
on  the  wharf.  The  nests  of  barn  swallows  also  have  been 
found  under  the  eaves  of  the  ice-house. 

Nor  must  the  exquisite  hummers  be  overlooked.  In  Truc- 
kee  Canyon,  and  near  Tahoe  Tavern  they  are  quite  numer- 


THE  BIRDS  AND  ANIMALS  307 

ous.  They  sit  on  the  telephone  wires  and  try  to  make  you 
listen  to  their  pathetic  and  scarcely  discernible  song,  and  as 
you  sit  on  the  seats  at  the  Tavern,  if  you  happen  to  have 
some  bright  colored  object  about  you,  especially  red,  they  will 
flit  to  and  fro  eagerly  seeking  for  the  honey-laden  flower 
that  red  ought  to  betoken. 

Several  times  down  Truckee  Canyon  I  have  seen  wild  ca- 
naries. They  are  rather  rare,  as  are  also  the  Louisiana  tan- 
ager,  most  gorgeous  of  all  the  Tahoe  birds,  and  the  black- 
headed  grosbeak. 

Of  the  wrens,  both  the  rock  wren  and  the  canyon  wren 
are  occasionally  seen,  the  peculiar  song  of  the  latter  bringing 
a  thrill  of  cheer  to  those  who  are  familiar  with  its  falling 
chromatic  scale. 

Then  there  is  the  merry  chick-a-dee-dee,  the  busy  creepers, 
and  the  nut-hatches  hunting  for  insects  on  the  tree  trunks. 

The  harsh  note  of  the  bluejay  is  heard  from  Tahoe 
Tavern,  all  around  the  Lake  and  in  almost  every  wooded 
slope  in  the  Sierras.  He  is  a  noisy,  generally  unlovable 
creature,  and  the  terror  of  the  small  birds  in  the  nesting 
season,  because  of  his  well-known  habit  of  stealing  eggs  and 
young.  At  Tahoe  Tavern,  however,  I  found  several  of 
them  that  were  shamed  into  friendliness  of  behavior,  and 
astonishing  tameness,  by  the  chipmunks.  They  would  come 
and  eat  nuts  from  my  fingers,  and  one  of  them  several  times 
came  and  perched  upon  my  shoulder.  There  is  also  the 
grayish  solitaire  which  looks  very  much  like  the  mocking- 
bird of  less  variable  climes. 

The  foregoing  account  of  the  birds,  which  I  submitted  for 
revision  to  Professor  Peter  Frandsen,  of  the  University  of 
Nevada,  called  forth  from  him  the  following: 

I  have  very  little  to  add  to  this  admirable  bird  account. 
Besides  the  gulls,  their  black  relatives,  the  swallow-like 
terns,    are    occasionally    seen.     The    black-crowned    night- 


3o8       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

heron  is  less  common  than  the  great  blue  heron.  Clarke's 
crow  is  more  properly  called  Clarke's  nutcracker  —  a  dif- 
ferent genus.  The  road  robin  or  chewink  is  fairly  common 
in  the  thickets  above  the  Lake.  Nuttal's  poor  will,  with 
its  call  of  two  syllables,  is  not  infrequently  heard  at  night. 
The  silent  mountain  blue-bird,  sialia  arctica,  is  sometimes 
seen.  So  is  the  western  warbling  vireo.  The  solitary 
white-rumped  shrike  is  occasionally  met  with  in  late  sum- 
mer. Owls  are  common  but  what  species  other  than  the 
western  horned  owl  I  do  not  know.  Other  rather  rare 
birds  are  the  beautiful  lazuli  bunting  and  the  western 
warbling  vireo.  Among  the  wood-peckers  I  have  also  noted 
the  bristle-bellied  wood-pecker,  or  Lewis's  wood-pecker, 
Harris's  wood-pecker,  and  the  downy  wood-pecker. 

ANIMALS.  These  are  even  more  numerous  than  the 
birds,  though  except  to  the  experienced  observer  many  of 
them  are  seldom  noticed. 

While  raccoons  are  not  found  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the 
High  Sierras,  or  in  the  near  neighborhood  of  the  Lake,  they 
are  not  uncommon  on  the  western  slopes,  near  the  Rubicon 
and  the  headwaters  of  the  various  forks  of  the  American  and 
other  near-by  rivers. 

Watson  assured  me  that  every  fall  he  sees  tracks  on  the 
Rubicon  and  in  the  Hell  Hole  region  of  very  large  mountain 
lions.  They  hide,  among  other  places,  under  and  on  the 
limbs  of  the  wild  grapevines,  which  here  grow  to  unusual  size. 
In  the  fall  of  1912  he  saw  some  strange  markings,  and 
following  them  was  led  to  a  cluster  of  wild  raspberry  vines, 
among  which  was  a  dead  deer  covered  over  with  fir  boughs. 
In  telling  me  the  story  he  said : 

I  can  generally  read  most  of  the  things  I  see  in  the  woods, 
but  this  completely  puzzled  me.  I  determined  to  find  out 
all  there  was  to  be  found.  Close  by  I  discovered  the  fir 
from  which  the  boughs  had  been  stripped.  It  was  as  if 
some  one  of  giant  strength  had  reached  up  to  a  height  of 
seven  or  eight  feet  and  completely  stripped  the  tree  of  all 


THE  BIRDS  AND  ANIMALS  309 

its  lower  limbs.  Then  I  asked  myself  the  question: 
"Who's  camping  here?"  I  thought  he  had  used  these 
limbs  to  make  a  bed  of.  But  there  was  no  water  nearby, 
and  no  signs  of  camping,  so  I  saw  that  was  a  wrong  lead. 
Then  I  noticed  that  the  limbs  were  too  big  to  be  torn  off 
by  a  man's  hands,  and  there  were  blood  stains  all  about. 
Then  I  found  the  fragments  of  a  deer.  "  Now,"  I  said 
to  myself,  "  I've  got  it.  A  bear  has  killed  this  deer  and 
has  eaten  part  of  it  and  will  come  back  for  the  rest."  You 
know  a  bear  does  this  sometimes.  But  when  I  hunted  for 
bear  tracks  there  wasn't  a  sign  of  a  bear.  Then  I  assumed 
that  some  hunter  had  been  along,  killed  a  doe  (contrary 
to  law),  had  eaten  what  he  could  and  hidden  the  rest,  cov- 
ering the  hide  with  leaves  and  these  branches.  But  then  I 
knew  a  hunter  would  cut  off  those  branches  with  a  knife, 
and  these  were  torn  off.  The  blood  spattered  about,  the 
torn-off  boughs  and  the  fact  that  there  were  no  tracks  puz- 
zled me,  and  I  felt  there  was  a  mystery  and,  probably,  a 
tragedy. 

But  a  day  or  two  later  I  met  a  woodsman  friend  of  mine, 
and  I  took  him  to  the  spot.  He  explained  the  whole  thing 
clearly.  As  soon  as  he  saw  it  he  said,  "  That's  a  mountain- 
lion."  "But,"  said  I,  "Where's  his  tracks?"  "He 
didn't  make  any,"  he  replied,  "  he  surprised  the  doe  by 
crawling  along  the  vines.  I've  found  calves  and  deer  hid- 
den like  this  before,  and  I've  seen  clear  traces  of  the  pan- 
thers, and  once  I  watched  one  as  he  killed,  ate  and  then  hid 
his  prey.  But  as  you  know  he  won't  touch  it  after  it  be- 
gins to  decompose,  but  a  bear  will.  And  that's  the  reason 
we  generally  think  it  is  a  bear  that  does  the  killing,  when 
in  reality  it  is  a  mountain  lion  who  has  had  his  fill  and 
left  the  remains  for  other  predatory  animals,  while  he  has 
gone  off  to  hunt  for  a  fresh  kill. 

Occasionally  sheep-herders  report  considerable  devastations 
from  mountain-lions  and  bear  to  the  Forest  Rangers.  James 
Bryden,  who  grazes  his  sheep  on  the  Tahoe  reserve  near 
Downieville,  lost  sixteen  sheep  in  one  night  in  July,  191 1. 

There  are  three  kinds  each  of  chipmunks  and  ground- 
squirrels.     All  of  the  former  have  striped  backs  and  do  more 


3IO       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

or  less  climbing  of  trees.  Of  their  friendliness,  greediness, 
and  even  sociability — where  nuts  are  in  evidence  or  anticipated 
—  I  have  written  fully  in  the  chapter  on  Tahoe  Tavern.  Of 
the  three  ground-squirrels  the  largest  is  the  common  ground- 
squirrel  of  the  valleys  of  California.  It  is  gray,  somewhat 
spotted  on  the  back,  and  has  a  whitish  collar  and  a  bushy 
tail.  The  next  in  size  is  the  "  picket-pin,"  so  called  from 
his  habit  of  sitting  bolt  upright  on  his  haunches  and  remain- 
ing steadfast  there,  without  the  slightest  movement,  until 
danger  threatens,  when  he  whisks  away  so  rapidly  that  it 
is  quite  impossible  to  follow  his  movements.  In  color  he 
is  of  a  grayish  brown,  with  thick-set  body,  and  short,  slim 
tail.  He  has  an  exceeding  sharp  call,  and  makes  his  home 
in  grassy  meadows  from  the  level  of  the  Lake  nearly  to  the 
summits  of  the  highest  peaks.  The  "  copper-head  "  is  the 
other  ground-squirrel,  though  by  some  he  may  be  regarded 
as  a  chipmunk,  for  he  has  a  striped  back. 

The  flying  squirrel  is  also  found  here.  It  comes  out  only 
at  night  and  lives  in  holes  in  trees.  On  each  side  between 
the  fore  and  hind  legs  it  has  a  hairy  flap,  which  when 
stretched  out  makes  the  body  very  broad,  and  together  with 
its  hairy  tail  it  is  enabled  to  sail  from  one  tree  to  another, 
though  always  alighting  at  a  lower  level.  A  more  correct 
name  would  be  a  "  sailing  "  squirrel.  The  fur  is  very  soft, 
of  a  mouse  color  and  the  animal  makes  a  most  beautiful  pet. 
It  has  great  lustrous  eyes  and  is  about  a  foot  in  length. 

The  tree  squirrel  about  the  Lake  is  the  pine  squirrel  or 
"  chickeree."  The  large  tree  squirrel  is  abundant  on  the 
west  slope  of  the  Sierra  from  about  six  thousand  feet  down- 
ward, but  it  is  not  in  the  Lake  basin,  so  far  as  I  am  aware. 
The  pine  squirrel  is  everywhere,  from  the  Lake  side  to  the 
summits  of  the  highest  wooded  peaks.  It  is  dark  above, 
whitish  to  yellow  below,  usually  with  a  black  line  along  the 
side.     The  tail  is  full,  bushy,  the  hairs  tipped  with  white 


THE  BIRDS  AND  ANIMALS  311 

forming  a  broad  fringe.  It  feeds  on  the  seeds  of  the  pine 
cones. 

The  woodchuck  or  marmot  is  a  huge,  lumbering,  squirrel- 
like animal  in  the  rocky  regions,  wholly  terrestrial  and 
feeding  chiefly  on  roots  and  grass.  The  young  are  fairly 
good  eating  and  to  shoot  them  with  a  rifle  is  some  sport. 

Of  the  fur  bearing  and  carnivorous  animals  the  otter, 
fisher,  etc.,  all  are  uncommon,  though  some  are  trapped  every 
year  by  residents  of  the  Lake,  The  otter  and  mink  live 
along  the  larger  streams  and  on  the  Lake  shore  where  they 
feed  chiefly  on  fish.  They  may  sometimes  catch  a  wild 
fowl  asleep.  The  martin  and  fisher  live  in  pine  trees  usu- 
ally in  the  deepest  forests,  and  they  probably  prey  on 
squirrels,  mice  and  birds.  They  are  usually  nocturnal  in 
their  habits.  The  martin  is  the  size  of  a  large  tree  squir- 
rel; the  fisher  is  about  twice  that  size.  The  foxes  are  not 
often  seen,  but  the  coyote  is  everywhere,  a  scourge  to  the  few 
bands  of  sheep.  Often  at  night  his  long-drawn,  doleful 
howl  may  be  heard,  a  fitting  sound  in  some  of  the  wild  granite 
canyons. 

One  day  while  passing  Eagle  Crag,  opposite  Idlewild,  the 
summer  residence  of  C.  F.  Kohl,  of  San  Francisco,  with 
Bob  Watson,  he  informed  me  that,  in  1877,  he  was  follow- 
ing the  tracks  of  a  deer  and  they  led  him  to  a  cave  or 
grotto  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  Crag.  While  he  stood 
looking  in  at  the  entrance  a  snarling  coyote  dashed  out,  far 
more  afraid  of  him  than  he  was  surprised  at  the  sudden 
appearance  of  the  creature. 

A  few  bears  are  still  found  in  the  farther  away  recesses 
of  the  Sierras,  and  on  one  mountain  range  close  to  the  Lake, 
viz.,  the  one  on  which  Freel's,  Job's  and  Job's  Sister  are  the 
chief  peaks.  These  are  brown  or  cinnamon,  and  black. 
There  are  no  grizzlies  found  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the 
Sierras,  nowadays,  and  it  is  possible  they  never  crossed  the 


312       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

divide  from  the  richer-clad  western  slopes.  In  September, 
1913,  a  hunting  party,  led  by  Mr.  Comstock,  of  Tallac,  and 
Lloyd  Tevis,  killed  two  black  bears,  one  of  them  weighing 
fully  four  hundred  pounds,  on  Freel's  Mountain,  and  in 
the  same  season  Mr.  Carl  Flugge,  of  Cathedral  Park, 
brought  home  a  good-sized  cinnamon  from  the  Rubicon 
country,  the  skin  of  which  now  adorns  my  office  floor. 

The  grizzly  has  long  since  been  driven  from  the  moun- 
tains, though  there  may  be  a  few  in  southern  Alpine  County, 
but  the  evidence  is  not  conclusive.  The  panther  is  migra- 
tory, preying  on  young  colts  and  calves.  They  are  not  at 
all  common,  though  some  are  heard  of  every  year.  The 
"  ermine  "  is  pure  white  in  winter,  except  the  tip  of  the  tail, 
which  is  black.     It  is  yellowish  brown  in  summer. 

There  are  two  rabbits,  one  a  huge  jackrabbit  of  the  great 
plains  region,  the  other  the  "  snowshoe  "  rabbit,  so  called 
because  of  his  broad  furry  feet  which  keep  it  from  sinking 
into  the  soft  snow  in  winter.  Both  rabbits  are  very  rare, 
and  probably  both  turn  white  in  winter.  I  have  seen  speci- 
mens of  the  snowshoe  rabbit  taken  in  winter  that  are  pure 
white. 

On  the  wildest  and  most  desolate  peaks  and  rock  piles  is 
found  the  cony  or  pika  or  "  rock  rabbit  "  as  it  is  variously 
called.  It  is  small,  only  six  inches  or  so  in  length,  tailless 
but  with  large  round  ears  and  soft  grayish  fur  like  a  rab- 
bit's. 

The  jumping  mouse  is  interesting.  It  may  be  seen  some- 
times at  evening  in  swampy  areas  and  meadows.  It  is  yel- 
lowish above,  whitish  below,  with  an  extremely  long  tail. 
It  travels  by  long  leaps,  takes  readily  to  the  water  and  is  an 
expert  swimmer.  The  meadow  mice  are  bluish  grey  and 
are  found  in  swampy  places.  The  wood  mice  are  pure 
white  below,  brown  above  and  are  found  everywhere. 

Quite  a  number  of  badgers  are  to  be  found  in  the  Tahoe 


THE  BIRDS  AND  ANIMALS  313 

region,  and  they  must  find  abundance  of  good  food,  for  the 
specimens  I  have  seen  were  rolling  in  fat,  and  as  broad  backed 
as  a  fourteen  inch  board. 

Several  times,  also,  have  I  seen  porcupines,  one  of  them, 
weighing  fully  twenty-five  pounds,  on  the  slopes  of  Mt. 
Watson,  waddling  along  as  if  he  were  a  small  bear.  They 
live  on  the  tender  bark  of  the  mountain  and  tamarack  pines, 
sometimes  girdling  the  trees  and  causing  them  to  die.  They 
are  slow-gaited  creatures,  easily  caught  by  dogs,  but  with 
their  needle  spines,  and  the  sharp,  quick-slapping  action  of 
their  tails,  by  means  of  which  they  can  thrust,  insert,  inject 
—  which  is  the  better  word  ?  —  a  score  or  more  of  these 
spines  into  a  dog's  face,  they  are  antagonists  whose  prowess 
cannot,  be  ignored. 

Very  few  people  would  think  of  the  porcupine  as  an  ani- 
mal destructive  to  forest  trees,  yet  one  of  the  Tahoe  Forest 
rangers  reports  that  in  the  spring  of  191 3  fifty  young  trees, 
averaging  thirty  feet  high,  were  killed  or  ruined  by  porcu- 
pines stripping  them  of  their  bark.  Sometimes  as  many  as 
ninety  per  cent,  of  the  young  trees  growing  on  a  burned-over 
area  are  thus  destroyed.  They  travel  and  feed  at  night, 
hence  the  ordinary  observer  would  never  know  their  habits. 

The  bushy-tailed  woodrat  proves  itself  a  nuisance  about 
the  houses  where  it  is  as  omnivorous  an  eater  as  is  its  far- 
removed  cousin,  the  house  rat.  The  gopher  is  one  of  the 
mammals  whose  mark  is  more  often  seen  than  the  creature 
itself.  It  lives  like  the  mole  in  underground  burrows,  com- 
ing to  the  surface  only  to  push  up  the  dirt  that  it  has  been 
digging. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

THE    SQUAW   VALLEY    MINING    EXCITEMENT 

THE  Tahoe  region  was  once  thrilled  through  and 
through  by  a  real  mining  excitement  that  belonged 
to  itself  alone.  It  had  felt  the  wonderful  activity 
that  resulted  from  the  discovery  of  the  Comstock  lode  in 
Virginia  City.  It  had  seen  its  southern  border  crowded  with 
miners  and  prospectors  hurrying  to  the  new  field,  and  later 
had  heard  the  blasting  and  picking,  the  shoveling  and  dump- 
ing of  rocks  while  the  road  from  Placerville  was  being  con- 
structed. 

It  had  seen  another  road  built  up  from  Carson  over  the 
King's  Canyon  grade,  and  lumber  mills  established  at  Glen- 
brook  in  order  to  supply  the  mines  with  timbers  for  their 
tunnels  and  excavations,  as  the  valuable  ore  and  its  attendant 
waste-rocks  were  hauled  to  the  surface. 

But  now  it  was  to  have  an  excitement  and  a  stampede 
all  its  own.  An  energetic  prospector  from  Georgetown,  El 
Dorado  County,  named  Knox,  discovered  a  big  ledge  of 
quartz  in  Squaw  Valley.  It  was  similar  rock  to  that  in 
which  the  Comstock  silver  was  found  in  large  quantities. 
Though  the  assays  of  the  floating-rock  did  not  yield  a  large 
amount  of  the  precious  metals,  they  showed  a  little  —  as  high 
as  $3.50  per  ton.  This  was  enough.  There  were  bound 
to  be  higher  grade  ores  deeper  down.  The  finder  filed  his 
necessary  "  locations,"  and  doubtless  aided  by  copious 
draughts  of  "  red-eye  "  saw,  in  swift  imagination,  his  claim 
develop  into  a  mine  as  rich  as  those  that  had  made  the  mil- 

314 


SQUAW  VALLEY  MINING  EXCITEMENT       315 

lionaires  of  Virginia  City.  Anyhow  the  rumor  spread  like 
a  prairie  fire,  and  men  came  rushing  in  from  Georgetown, 
Placerville,  Last  Chance,  Kentucky  Flat,  Michigan  Bluff, 
Hayden  Hdll,  Dutch  Flat,  Baker  Divide,  Yankee  Jim,  May- 
flower, Paradise,  Yuba,  Deadwood,  Jackass  Gulch  and  all 
the  other  camps  whose  locators  and  residents  had  not  been 
as  fortunate  financially  as  they  were  linguistically. 

Knox  started  a  "  city "  which  he  named  Knoxville,  the 
remains  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  shape  of  ruined 
log-cabins,  stone  chimneys,  foundations  of  hewed  logs,  a 
graveyard,  etc.,  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  railway  coming 
from  Truckee,  and  about  six  miles  from  Tahoe. 

One  has  but  to  let  his  imagination  run  riot  for  a  few  mo- 
ments to  see  this  now  deserted  camp  a  scene  of  the  greatest 
activity.  The  many  shafts  and  tunnels,  dump-piles  and 
prospect-holes  show  how  busy  a  spot  it  must  have  been.  The 
hills  about  teemed  with  men.  At  night  the  log  store  —  still 
standing  —  and  the  saloons  —  tents,  shacks  and  log  houses  — 
were  crowded  with  those  who  sought  in  the  flowing  bowl 
some  surcease  from  the  burden  of  their  arduous  labors. 

Now  and  again  a  shooting  took  place,  a  man  actually 
"  died  with  his  boots  on,"  as  in  the  case  of  one  King,  a  bad 
man  from  Texas  who  had  a  record,  and  whose  sudden  end 
was  little,  if  any,  lamented.  He  had  had  a  falling  out  with 
the  store-keeper,  Tracey,  and  had  threatened  to  kill  him  on 
sight.  The  former  bade  him  keep  away  from  his  store,  but 
King  laughed  at  the  prohibition,  and  with  the  blind  daring 
that  often  counts  as  courage  with  such  men  —  for  he  assumed 
that  the  store-keeper  would  not  dare  to  shoot  —  he  came 
down  the  following  day,  intending  himself  to  do  all  the 
shooting  there  was  to  be  done.  But  he  reckoned  mistakenly. 
Tracey  saw  him  coming,  came  to  the  door,  bade  him  Halt! 
and  on  his  sneering  refusal,  shot  the  bad  man  dead. 

In   September,    19 13,   I  paid  a  visit  to  Knoxville.     Just 


3i6       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

above  the  town,  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  mountain,  were 
several  tunnels  and  great  dump-piles,  clearly  showing  the 
vast  amount  of  work  that  had  been  done.  The  quartz  ledge 
that  caused  the  excitement  was  distinctly  in  evidence,  in- 
deed, when  the  Tahoe  Railway  roadbed  was  being  graded, 
this  quartz  ledge  was  blasted  into,  and  the  director  of  opera- 
tions sent  a  number  of  specimens  for  assay,  the  rock  looked 
so  favorable. 

Here  and  there  were  the  remains  of  old  log-cabins,  with 
their  outside  stone  chimneys.  In  some  cases  young  tama- 
racks, fifteen  and  twenty  feet  high,  had  grown  up  within  the 
areas  once  confined  by  the  walls.  These  ruins  extended  all 
the  way  down  to  Deer  Creek,  showing  the  large  number  of 
inhabitants  the  town  once  possessed. 

I  saw  the  graveyard  by  the  side  of  the  river,  where  King's 
body  was  the  first  to  be  buried,  and  I  stood  in  the  doorway 
of  the  store  from  which  the  shot  that  killed  him  was  fired. 

In  imagination,  I  saw  the  whole  life  of  the  camp,  as  I  have 
seen  mining-camps  after  a  stampede  in  Nevada.  The  shacks, 
rows  of  tents,  and  the  rudely  scattered  and  varied  dwellings 
that  the  ingenuity  and  skill  of  men  hastily  extemporized. 
Most  of  the  log-houses  are  now  gone,  their  charred  remnants 
telling  of  the  indifferent  carelessness  of  campers,  prospectors 
or  Indians. 

The  main  street  was  in  a  pretty  little  meadowed  vale, 
lined  on  either  side  with  trees,  and  close  to  the  Truckee, 
which  here  rushes  and  dashes  and  roars  and  sparkles  among 
the  bowlders  and  rocks  that  bestrew  its  bed. 

When  it  was  found  the  ore  did  not  "  pan  out,"  the  excite- 
ment died  down  even  more  rapidly  than  it  arose,  and  in 
1863-4  the  camp  was  practically  dead. 

It  has  been  charged  that  the  Squaw  Valley  claims  were 
"  salted  "  with  ore  brought  from  Virginia  City.  I  am  in- 
clined to  doubt  this,  and  many  of  the  old  timers  deny  it. 


SQUAW  VALLEY  MINING  EXCITEMENT      317 

They  assert  that  Knox  was  "  on  the  square  "  and  that  he 
firmly  believed  he  had  paying  ore.  It  is  possible  there  may 
have  been  the  salting  of  an  individual  claim  or  so  after  the 
camp  started,  but  the  originators  of  the  camp  started  it  in 
good  faith,  as  they  themselves  were  the  greatest  losers  when 
the  "  bottom  "  of  the  excitement  dropped  out. 

About  a  mile  further  up  the  river  is  still  to  be  seen  the 
site  of  the  rival  town  of  Claraville,  founded  at  the  same 
time  as  Knoxville.  There  is  little  left  here,  though  the  as- 
say office,  built  up  against  a  massive  square  rock  still  stands. 
It  is  of  hewed  timbers  rudely  dovetailed  together  at  the 
corners. 

It  would  scarcely  be  worth  while  to  recount  even  this 
short  history  of  the  long  dead, —  almost  stillborn  —  Squaw 
Valley  camp  were  it  not  for  the  many  men  it  brought  to 
Lake  Tahoe  who  have  left  their  impress  and  their  names 
upon  its  most  salient  canyons,  streams,  peaks  and  other  land- 
marks.    Many   of   these   have   been   referred   to   elsewhere. 

One  of  the  first  to  arrive  was  William  Pomin,  the  brother 
of  the  present  captain  of  the  steamer  Tahoe.  His  wife 
gave  birth  to  the  first  white  child  born  on  Lake  Tahoe,  and 
she  was  named  after  the  Lake.  She  now  lives  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. When  she  was  no  more  than  two  or  three  months 
old,  her  mother  took  her  on  mule-back,  sixty  miles  over  the 
trail  to  Forest  Hill,  in  one  day.  Pomin  removed  to  the 
north  shore  of  the  Lake  when  Squaw  Valley  "  busted,"  and 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  Tahoe  City,  building  and  con- 
ducting one  of  the  first  hotels  there. 

Another  of  these  old  timers  was  J.  W.  McKinney,  from 
whom  McKinney's  was  named.  He  came  from  the  mining- 
camp  of  Georgetown  over  the  trail,  and  engaged  himself  in 
selling  town  lots  at  Knoxville.  He  and  Knox  had  worked 
together  in  the  El  Dorado  excitement. 

He  originally  came  over  the  plains  in  the  gold-alluring 


3i8       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

days  of  '49.  When  his  party  reached  the  land  of  the  In- 
dians, these  aborigines  were  too  wise  to  make  open  attacks. 
They  hit  upon  the  dastardly  method  of  shooting  arrows  into 
the  bellies  of  the  oxen,  so  that  the  pioneers  would  be  com- 
pelled to  abandon  them.  One  night  McKinney  was  on 
guard  duty.  He  was  required  to  patrol  back  and  forth  and 
meet  another  sentinel  at  a  certain  tree.  There  they  would 
stop  and  chat  for  a  few  moments  before  resuming  their  soli- 
tary march.  Just  before  day-break,  after  a  few  words,  they 
separated.  On  answering  the  breakfast  call  McKinney 
found  he  was  alone,  and  on  going  back  to  investigate,  found 
his  companion  lying  dead  with  an  arrow  through  his  heart. 
The  moccasin  tracks  of  an  Indian  clearly  revealed  who  was 
the  murderer,  and  a  little  study  showed  that  the  Indian  had 
swam  the  river,  waited  until  the  sentinel  passed  close  by 
him,  and  had  then  sent  the  arrow  true  to  its  fatal  mark. 

The  next  night  the  Indians  shot  an  arrow  into  an  ox.  In 
the  morning  it  was  unable  to  travel,  but  McKinney  and  his 
friends  had  determined  to  do  something  to  put  a  stop  to 
these  attacks.  Taking  the  ox  in  the  shadow  of  a  knoll,  they 
shot  it,  and  eight  men  then  hid  in  the  shelter  of  some  brush 
where  the  carcass  was  clearly  in  view. 

When  the  train  pulled  out  it  seemed  as  if  they  had  aban- 
doned the  ox.  It  was  scarcely  out  of  sight  when  the  watch- 
ers saw  eight  Indians  come  sneaking  up.  Each  man  took 
the  Indian  allotted  to  him,  but  by  some  error  two  men  shot 
at  the  same  Indian,  so  that  when  the  guns  were  fired  and 
seven  men  fell  dead  the  other  escaped.  On  one  of  them  was 
found  seven  twenty-dollar  gold  pieces  wrapped  up  in  a  dirty 
rag,  which  had  doubtless  cost  some  poor  emigrant  or  miner 
his  life.  Some  of  the  party  wished  to  leave  this  gold  with 
the  dead  Indian,  but  McKinney  said  his  scruples  would  not 
allow  him  to  do  any  such  thing,  and  the  gold  found  its  way 
into  his  pocket. 


SQUAW  VALLEY  MINING  EXCITEMENT       319 

Though  a  man  of  practically  no  education  —  it  is  even  said 
b)'  those  who  claim  to  have  known  him  well  that  he  could 
neither  read  nor  write,  but  this  seems  improbable  —  he  was 
a  man  of  such  keen  powers  of  observation,  retentive  memory, 
ability  in  conversation  and  strong  personality,  that  he  was 
able  to  associate  on  an  equality  with  men  of  most  superior 
attainments.  John  Muir  was  a  frequent  visitor  to  his  home, 
especially  in  the  winter  time  when  all  tourists  and  resort 
guests  had  gone  away.  John  McGee,  another  well-known 
lover  of  the  winter  mountains,  was  also  a  welcome  guest,  who 
fully  appreciated  the  manly  vigor  and  sterling  character  of 
the  transplanted  Missourian. 

John  Ward,  from  whom  Ward  Creek  and  Ward  Peak 
(8665  feet)  are  named,  was  another  Squaw  Valley  mining 
excitement  stampeder.  He  came  in  the  early  days  of  the 
rush,  and  as  soon  as  the  camp  died  down,  located  on  the 
mouth  of  the  creek  that  now  bears  his  name. 

The  next  creek  to  the  south  —  Blackwood's, —  is  named 
after  still  another  Squaw  Valley  stampeder.  For  years  he 
lived  at  the  mouth  of  this  creek  and  gained  his  livelihood  as 
a  fisherman. 

The  same  explanation  accounts  for  Dick  Madden  Creek. 

Barker  who  has  peak,  pass  and  valley  named  after  him, 
came  from  Georgetown  to  Knoxville,  and  like  so  many  other 
of  his  unfortunate  mining  brethren  from  over  the  divide, 
started  a  dairy  on  the  west  side  of  the  pass  which  bears  his 
name.  The  valley,  however,  was  so  high  and  cold  that 
more  than  half  the  year  the  cream  would  not  rise,  so  he  gave 
up  dairying  and  went  elsewhere. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  many  who  might  be  mentioned, 
whose  names  are  linked  with  the  Tahoe  region,  and  who  came 
to  it  in  the  hope  of  "  making  their  everlasting  fortunes  "  when 
Squaw  Valley  "  started  up." 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

THE    FREMONT    HOWITZER    AND    LAKE   TAHOE 

HUNDREDS  of  thousands  of  Americans  doubtless 
have  read  "  How  a  Woman's  Wit  Saved  Cali- 
fornia to  the  Union,"  yet  few  indeed  know  how 
intimately  that  fascinating  piece  of  history  is  linked  with 
Lake  Tahoe. 

Here  is  the  story  of  the  link: 

When  Fremont  started  out  on  his  Second  Exploration 
(fairly  well  dealt  with  in  another  chapter),  he  stopped  at 
the  Kansas  frontier  to  equip.  When  he  finally  started,  the 
party  (io8)  was  armed  generally  with  Hall's  carbines,  which, 
says  Fremont: 

with  a  brass  twelve-pound  howitzer,  had  been  furnished 
to  me  from  the  United  States  arsenal  at  St.  Louis,  agree- 
ably to  the  command  of  Colonel  S.  W.  Kearny,  command- 
ing the  third  military  division.  Three  men  were  espe- 
cially detailed  for  the  management  of  this,  under  the  charge 
of  Louis  Zindel,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  had  been  nine- 
teen )^ears  a  non-commissioned  officer  of  the  artillery  in  the 
Prussian  army,  and  regularly  instructed  in  the  duties  of 
his  profession. 

As  soon  as  the  news  that  he  had  added  a  cannon  to  his 
equipment  reached  Washington,  the  Secretary  of  War,  James 
M.  Porter,  sent  a  message  after  him,  post  haste,  counter- 
manding the  expedition  on  the  ground  that  he  had  prepared 
himself  with  a  military  equipment,  which  the  pacific  nature 
of  his  journey  did  not  require.     It  was  specially  charged  as 

320 


THE  FREMONT  HOWITZER  321 

i 

a  heinous  offense  that  he  had  procured  a  small  mountain 
howitzer  from  the  arsenal  at  St.  Louis,  in  addition  to  his 
other  firearms. 

But  Fremont  had  already  started.  He  was  not  far  on 
his  way,  and  the  message  could  have  reached  him  easily.  It 
was  not  destined  to  do  so,  however,  until  after  his  return. 
The  message  came  to  the  hands  of  his  girl-wife,  Jessie  Ben- 
ton Fremont,  the  daughter  of  Missouri's  great  senator, 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  and  she  knew,  as  Charles  A.  Moody 
has  well  written,  that 

this  order,  obeyed,  would  indefinitely  postpone  the  expedi- 
tion —  probably  wreck  it  entirely.  She  did  not  forward  it. 
Consulting  no  one,  since  there  was  no  one  at  hand  to  con- 
sult, she  sent  a  swift  messenger  to  her  husband  with  word 
to  break  camp  and  move  forward  at  once  — "  he  could  not 
have  the  reason  for  haste,  but  there  was  reason  enough." 
And  he,  knowing  well  and  well  trusting  the  sanity  and 
breadth  of  that  girl-brain,  hastened  forward,  unquestioning, 
while  she  promptly  informed  the  officer  whose  order  she 
had  vetoed,  what  she  had  done,  and  w^hy.  So  far  as  hu- 
man wit  may  penetrate,  obedience  to  that  backward  sum- 
mons would  have  meant,  three  years  later,  the  winning  of 
California  by  another  nation  —  and  what  that  loss  would 
have  signified  to  the  United  States  none  can  know  fully, 
but  any  may  partly  guess  who  realizes  a  part  of  what  Cali- 
fornia has  meant  for  us. 

In  commenting  later  upon  this  countermand  of  the  Ex- 
pedition Fremont  remarks: 

It  is  not  probable  that  I  would  have  been  recalled  from 
the  Missouri  frontier  to  Washington  to  explain  why  I  had 
taken  an  arm  that  simply  served  to  increase  the  means  of 
defense  for  a  small  party  very  certain  to  encounter  Indian 
hostilitj^  and  which  involved  very  trifling  expense.  The 
administration  in  Washington  was  apparently  afraid  of  the 
English  situation  in  Oregon. 

Unconscious,  therefore,  of  his  wife's  action, —  which  might 


322       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

easily  have  ruined  his  career  —  Fremont  pushed  on.  The 
howitzer  accompanied  him  into  Oregon,  back  through  into 
Nevada,  and  is  clearly  seen  in  the  picture  of  Pyramid  Lake 
drawn  by  Mr.  Preuss  (which  appears  in  the  original  report), 
showing  it  after  it  had  traveled  in  the  neighborhood  of  four 
thousand  miles. 

The  last  time  it  was  fired  as  far  as  the  Fremont  Expedi- 
tion is  concerned  was  on  Christmas  Eve,  in  1843.  The 
party  was  camped  on  Christmas  Lake,  now  known  as 
Warner  Lake,  Oregon,  and  the  following  morning  the  gun 
crew  wakened  Fremont  with  a  salute,  fired  in  honor  of  the 
day.  A  month  later,  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  south, 
it  was  to  be  abandoned  in  the  mountains  near  West  Walker 
River,  on  account  of  the  deep  snow  which  made  it  impos- 
sible for  the  weary  horses  to  drag  it  further. 

On  the  28th  of  January  Fremont  thus  writes : 

To-night  we  did  not  succeed  in  getting  the  howitzer  into 
camp.  This  was  the  most  laborious  day  we  had  yet  passed 
through,  the  steep  ascents  and  deep  snows  exhausting  both 
men  and  animals. 

Possibly  now  the  thought  began  to  take  possession  of  him 
that  the  weapon  must  be  left  behind.  For  long  weary  days 
it  had  been  a  constant  companion.  It  had  been  dragged  over 
the  plains,  mountains  and  canyons.  It  was  made  to  ford 
rivers,  plunge  through  quicksands  and  wallow  through  bog, 
mire,  mud,  marsh  and  snow.  Again  and  again  it  delayed 
them  when  coming  over  sandy  roads,  but  tenaciously  Fremont 
held  on  to  it.  Now  deep  snow  forbade  its  being  dragged 
further.  Haste  over  the  high  mountains  of  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada was  imperative,  for  such  peaks  and  passes  are  no  lady's 
playground  when  the  forces  of  winter  begin  to  linger  there, 
yet  one  can  well  imagine  the  regret  and  distress  felt  by  the 
Pathfinder  at  being  compelled  to  abandon  this  cannon,  to 


THE  FR^^MONT  HOWITZER  323 

which  he  had  so  desperately  clung  on  all  the  wearisome 
miles  his  company  had  hitherto  marched. 
On  the  29th  he  writes : 

The  principal  stream  still  running  through  an  impracti- 
cable canyon,  we  ascended  a  very  steep  hill,  which  proved 
afterwards  the  last  and  fatal  obstacle  to  our  little  howitzer, 
which  was  finally  abandoned  at  this  place.  [This  place  ap- 
pears to  be  about  eight  or  ten  miles  up  the  river  from  Cole- 
ville,  and  on  the  right  or  east  side  of  the  river.]  We 
passed  through  a  small  meadow  a  few  miles  below,  cross- 
ing the  river,  which  depth,  swift  current,  and  rock,  made  it 
difficult  to  ford  [this  brings  him  to  the  west  bank  for  the 
first  time,  but  the  cannon  did  not  get  this  far,  and  there- 
fore was  left  on  the  east  side  of  the  river.  This  is  to  be 
noted  on  account  of  the  fact  that  it  was  found  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river  in  another  canyon],  and  after  a  few  more 
miles  of  very  difficult  trail,  issued  into  a  larger  prairie  bot- 
tom, at  the  farther  end  of  which  we  camped,  in  a  position 
rendered  strong  by  rocks  and  trees. 

The  reader  must  not  forget  that  the  notes  in  brackets 
[  ]  are  interjections  in  Fremont's  narrative  by  Mr.  Smith, 
(see  the  chapter  on  Fremont's    discovery  of  Lake  Tahoe). 

Fremont  continues: 

The  other  division  of  the  party  did  not  corne  in  to-night, 
but  camped  in  the  upper  meadow,  and  arrived  the  next 
morning.  They  had  not  succeeded  in  getting  the  howitzer 
beyond  the  place  mentioned,  and  where  it  had  been  left  by 
Mr.  Preuss,  in  obedience  to  my  orders;  and,  in  anticipation 
of  the  snow-banks  and  snow-fields  ahead,  foreseeing  the  in- 
evitable detention  to  which  it  would  subject  us,  I  reluc- 
tantly determined  to  leave  it  there  for  a  time.  It  was  of 
the  kind  invented  by  the  French  for  the  mountain  part  of 
their  war  in  Algiers;  and  the  distance  it  had  come  with  us 
proved  how  well  it  was  adapted  to  its  purpose.  We  left 
it,  to  the  great  sorrow  of  the  whole  party,  who  were 
grieved  to  part  with  a  companion  which  had  made  the  whole 


324       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

distance  from  St.  Louis,  and  commanded  respect  for  us  on 
some  critical  occasions,  and  which  might  be  needed  for  the 
same  purpose  again. 

[It  is  the  impression  of  those  of  the  old  settlers  on  Walker 
River,  of  whom  we  have  inquired  regarding  the  subject, 
that  the  cannon  was  found  early  in  the  6o's  near  the  head 
of  Lost  Canyon.  This  canyon  comes  into  Little  Antelope 
Valley  —  a  branch  of  Antelope  Valley  —  from  the  south. 
This  impression  evidently  was  accepted  by  the  government 
geological  surveyors,  for  they  twisted  the  name  of  the  creek 
coming  down  this  canyon  to  "  Lost  Cannon  Creek,"  and 
called  a  peak,  which  looks  down  into  this  canyon,  Lost  Can- 
non Peak.  The  origin  of  the  name  of  this  canyon  lies  in 
the  fact  that  an  emigrant  party,  on  its  way  to  the  Sonora 
Pass,  and  in  an  endeavor  probably  to  avoid  the  rough  river 
canyon  down  which  Fremont  came,  essayed  this  pass  instead 
of  the  meadows  above.  It  is  a  canyon  which,  at  first, 
promises  an  easy  pass  but  finally  becomes  almost  impassable. 
The  party  in  question  found  it  necessary  to  abandon  several 
of  their  wagons  before  they  could  get  over.  They,  or  an- 
other party,  buried  one  of  their  men  there,  also  some  black- 
smith tools.  My  endeavors  to  ascertain  what  party  this 
was  have  thus  far  not  been  successful.  Mr.  Timothy  B. 
Smith,  who  went  to  Walker  River  in  1859,  says  that  the 
wagons  were  there  at  that  time.  The  cannon  is  supposed 
to  have  been  found  with  or  near  these  wagons.  Mr.  Rich- 
ard Watkins,  of  Coleville,  who  went  into  that  section  in 
1 86 1,  or  soon  after,  informs  me  that  wagons  were  also 
found  in  one  of  the  canyons  leading  to  the  Sonora  Pass 
from  Pickle  Meadow.  The  cannon,  according  to  Mr. 
Watkins,  was  found  with  these  wagons.  At  any  rate,  it 
seems  likely  that  the  cannon  was  not  found  at  the  place 
where  Fremont  left  it,  but  had  been  picked  up  by  some  emi- 
grant party,  who,  in  turn,  were  compelled  to  abandon  it 
with  several  of  their  wagons.] 

For  several  years  the  cannon  remained  where  its  emigrant 
finders  removed  it,  then  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War, 
"  Dan  de  Quille,"  William  Wright,  the  author  of  The  Big 
Bonanza,  the  fellow  reporter  of  Mark  Twain  on  one  of  the 


THE  FREMONT  HOWITZER  325 

Virginia  City  newspapers,  called  the  attention  of  certain 
belligerent  adherents  of  the  south  to  it,  and  they  determined 
to  secure  it.  But  the  loyal  sons  of  the  Union  were  also 
alert  and  Captain  A.  W.  Pray,  who  was  then  in  the  Ne- 
vada mining  metropolis,  succeeded  in  getting  and  maintain- 
ing possession  of  it.  As  he  moved  to  Glenbrook,  on  Lake 
Tahoe,  that  year,  he  took  the  cannon  with  him.  Being 
mounted  on  a  carriage  with  fairly  high  wheels,  these  latter 
were  taken  and  converted  into  a  hay-wagon,  with  which,  for 
several  years,  he  hauled  hay  from  the  Glenbrook  meadows 
to  his  barn  in  town.  The  cannon  itself  was  mounted  on 
a  heavy  wooden  block  to  which  it  was  affixed  with  iron 
bands,  securely  held  in  place  by  bolts  and  nuts.  For  years 
it  was  used  at  Glenbrook  on  all  patriotic  and  special  occa- 
sions. Fremont  never  came  back  to  claim  it.  The  govern- 
ment made  no  claim  upon  it.  So  while  Captain  Pray  re- 
garded it  as  his  own  it  was  commonly  understood  and  gen- 
erally accepted  that  it  was  town  property,  to  be  used  by  all 
alike  on  occasions  of  public  rejoicing. 

After  Captain  Pray's  death,  however,  the  cannon  was  sold 
by  his  widow  to  the  Native  Sons  of  Nevada,  and  the  news 
of  the  sale  soon  spread  abroad  and  caused  no  little  commo- 
tion. To  say  that  the  people  were  astonished  is  to  put  it 
mildly.  They  were  in  a  state  of  consternation.  Fremont's 
cannon  sold  and  going  to  be  removed?  Impossible!  No!  it 
was  so!  The  purchasers  were  coming  to  remove  it  the  next 
day. 

Were  they?     That  remained  to  be  seen! 

That  night  in  the  darkness,  three  or  four  determined  men 
quietly  and  stealthily  removed  the  nuts  from  the  bolts,  and, 
leaving  the  block  of  wood,  quietly  carried  the  cannon  and 
hid  it  in  a  car  of  scrap-iron  that  was  to  be  transported  the 
next  day  from  Glenbrook  to  Tahoe  City. 

When  the  day  dawned  and  the  purchasers  arrived,  the 


326       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

cannon  was  not  to  be  found,  and  no  one,  apparently,  knew 
what  had  become  of  it.  Solicitations,  arguments,  threats 
had  no  effect.  The  cannon  was  gone.  That  was  all  there 
was  to  it,  and  Mrs.  Pray  and  the  Nevada  purchasers  had 
to  accept  that  —  to  them  —  disagreeable  fact. 

But  the  cannon  was  not  lost.  It  was  only  gone  on  be- 
fore. For  several  years  it  remained  hidden  under  the  black- 
smith shop  at  Tahoe  City,  its  presence  known  only  to  the 
few  conspirators  —  one  of  whom  was  my  informant.  About 
five  years  ago  it  was  resurrected  and  ever  since  then  its  brazen 
throat  has  bellowed  the  salutation  of  the  Fourth  of  July  to 
the  loyal  inhabitants  of  Tahoe.  It  now  stands  on  the  slight 
hill  overlooking  the  Lake  at  Tahoe  City,  a  short  distance 
east  of  the  hotel. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

THE    MOUNT   ROSE   OBSERVATORY 

WHILE  Californians  rightly  and  justly  claim  Ta- 
hoe  as  their  own,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
Nevadans  have  an  equal  claim.  In  the  Nevada 
State  University,  situated  at  Reno,  there  is  a  magnificent 
band  of  young  men,  working  and  teaching  as  professors,  who 
regard  all  opportunities  as  sacred  trusts,  and  who  are  mak- 
ing for  their  university  a  wonderful  record  of  scientific 
achievement  for  universal  benefit. 

Located  on  the  Nevada  side  of  the  Tahoe  region  line,  at 
the  northeast  end  of  the  Lake,  is  Mount  Rose.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  salient  and  important  of  the  peaks  that  surround 
Tahoe,  its  elevation  being  10,800  feet.  The  professor  of 
Latin  in  the  Nevada  University,  James  E.  Church,  Jr.,  a 
strenuous  nature-lover,  a  mountain-climber,  gifted  with  ro- 
bust physical  and  mental  health,  making  the  ascent  of  Mt. 
Whitney  in  March,  1905,  was  suddenly  seized  with  the 
idea  that  a  meteorological  observatory  could  be  established 
on  Mt.  Rose,  and  records  of  temperature,  wind,  snow  or 
rain-fall  taken  throughout  the  winter  months.  The  summit 
of  Mt.  Rose  by  road  is  approximately  twenty  miles  in  a 
southwesterly  direction  from  Reno,  and  Professor  Church 
and  his  associates  deemed  it  near  enough  for  week-end  visits. 
The  courage,  energy  and  robust  manliness  required  to  carry 
the  work  along  can  be  appreciated  only  by  those  who  have 
gone  over  the  ground  in  winter,  and  forms  another  chapter 
of  quiet  and  unknown  heroism  in  the  interest  of  science 
written  by  so  many  of  our  younger  western  professors  who 

327 


328       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

are  not  content  with  mere  academic  attainment  and  distinc- 
tion. 

The  idea  of  obtaining  winter  temperatures  on  the  moun- 
tains of  the  Pacific  Coast  was  first  suggested  by  Professor 
McAdie,  head  of  the  Weather  Bureau  in  San  Francisco.^ 
He  responded  to  the  request  for  instruments,  and  through 
his  recommendation,  thermometers,  rain-gauge,  etc.,  were 
speedily  forthcoming  from  the  Weather  Bureau.  On  June 
24,  1905,  with  "  Billy  "  and  "  Randy,"  family  ponies,  loaded 
with  a  newly  designed  thermometer-shelter,  constructed  so 
as  to  withstand  winter  gales  and  yet  allow  the  easy  exit  of 
snow,  the  first  advance  on  Mt.  Rose  was  made. 

From  that  day  the  work  has  been  carried  on  with  a  vigor 
and  enthusiasm  that  are  thrilling  in  their  inspiration.  An 
improved  Instrument  was  added  that  recorded  tempera- 
tures on  a  self-registering  roll,  all  fluctuations,  and  the  high- 
est and  lowest  temperatures,  wind-pressures,  all  variations 
in  humidity,  temperature,  and  air  pressure  as  well  as  the 
directions  and  the  velocity  of  the  wind  for  periods  of  sev- 
enty days  and  more.  This  instrument  was  the  achievement 
of  Professor  S.  P.  Fergusson,  for  many  years  a  pioneer 
worker  in  mountain  meteorology  at  Blue  Hill  Observatory 
and  an  associate  of  Professor  Church  at  the  Mount  Rose  Ob- 
servatory, which  has  now  become  a  part  of  the  University 
of  Nevada. 

After  two  winters'  work  it  was  discovered,  on  making  com- 
parisons with  the  records  at  the  Central  Weather  Station 
at  Reno,  6268  feet  below,  that  frost  forecast  could  prob- 
ably be  made  on  Mt.  Rose  from  twenty-four  to  forty-eight 
hours  in  advance  of  the  appearance  of  the  frost  in  the  lower 
levels,  provided  the  weather  current  was  traveling  in  its 
normal  course  eastward  from   the  coast. 

1  Since  this  was  written  Professor  McAdie  has  been  appointed  to 
the  chair  of  Meteorology  at  Harvard  University. 


THE  MOUNT  ROSE  OBSERVATORY      329 

Second  only  in  importance  was  the  discovery  and  photo- 
graphic recording  of  evidence  of  the  value  of  timber  high 
up  on  mountains,  and  especially  on  the  lips  of  canyons,  for 
holding  the  snow  until  late  in  the  season. 

This  latter  phase  of  the  Observatory's  work  has  developed 
into  a  most  novel  and  valuable  contribution  to  practical  for- 
estry and  conservation  of  water,  under  Dr.  Church's  clear 
and  logical  direction.  At  Contact  Pass,  9000  feet  elevation, 
and  at  the  base  of  the  mountain,  supplementary  stations  have 
been  established,  where  measurements  of  snow  depth  and 
density,  the  evaporation  of  snow,  and  temperatures  within 
the  snow  have  been  taken.  Lake  Tahoe,  with  its  seventy 
miles  of  coast  line  also  affords  ready  access  throughout  the 
winter,  by  means  of  motor  boat,  snow-shoes  and  explorer's 
camp,  to  forests  of  various  types  and  densities  where  snow 
measurements  of  the  highest  importance  have  been  made. 

Delicate  instruments  of  measurement  and  weight,  etc., 
have  been  invented  by  Dr.  Church  and  his  associates  to  meet 
the  needs  as  they  have  arisen,  and  continuous  observations 
for  several  years  seem  to  justify  the  following  general  con- 
clusions. These  are  quoted  from  a  bulletin  by  Dr.  Church, 
issued  by  the  International  Irrigation  Congress. 

The  conservation  of  snow  is  dependent  on  mountains  and 
forests  and  is  most  complete  where  these  two  factors  are 
combined.  The  mountain  range  is  not  only  the  recipient 
of  more  snow  than  the  plain  or  the  valley  at  its  base,  but 
in  consequence  of  the  lower  temperature  prevailing  on  its 
slopes  the  snow  there  melts  more  slowly. 

However,  mountains,  because  of  their  elevation,  are  ex- 
posed to  the  sweep  of  violent  winds  which  not  only  blow 
the  snow  in  considerable  quantities  to  lower  levels,  where 
the  temperature  is  higher,  but  also  dissipate  and  evaporate 
the  snow  to  a  wasteful  degree.  The  southern  slopes,  also, 
are  so  tilted  as  to  be  more  completely  exposed  to  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun,  and   in  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  probably 


330       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

elsewhere  are  subjected  to  the  persistent  action  of  the  pre- 
vailing southwest  wind. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  mountain  mass,  by  breaking  the 
force  of  the  wind,  causes  much  of  the  drifting  snow  to  pile 
up  on  its  lee  slope  and  at  the  base  of  its  cliffs,  where  it  finds 
comparative  shelter  from  the  wind  and  sun. 

Forests,  also,  conserve  the  snow.  In  wind-swept  regions, 
they  break  the  force  of  the  wind,  catching  the  snow  and 
holding  it  in  position  even  on  the  windward  slopes  of  the 
mountains.  On  the  lower  slopes,  where  the  wind  is  less 
violent,  the  forests  catch  the  falling  snow  directly  in  pro- 
portion to  their  openness,  but  conserve  it  after  it  has  fallen 
directly  in  proportion  to  their  density.  This  phenomenon 
is  due  to  the  crowns  of  the  trees,  which  catch  the  falling 
snow  and  expose  it  to  rapid  evaporation  in  the  open  air  but 
likewise  shut  out  the  sun  and  wind  from  the  snow  that  has 
succeeded  in  passing  through  the  forest  crowns  to  the 
ground.  Both  mountains  and  forests,  therefore,  are  to  a 
certain  extent  wasters  of  snow  —  the  mountains  because  they 
are  partially  exposed  to  sun  and  wind ;  the  trees,  because 
they  catch  a  portion  of  the  falling  snow  on  their  branches 
and  expose  it  to  rapid  disintegration.  However,  the  moun- 
tains by  their  mass  and  elevation  conserve  immeasurably 
more  snow  than  they  waste,  and  forested  areas  conserve  far 
more  snow  than  unforested.  If  the  unforested  mountain 
slopes  can  be  covered  with  timber,  much  of  the  waste  now 
occurring  on  them  can  be  prevented,  and  by  thinning  the 
denser  forests  the  source  of  waste  in  them  also  can  be 
checked. 

The  experiences  met  with  by  the  voluntary  band  of  ob- 
servers to  secure  the  data  needed  in  their  work  are  romantic 
in  the  extreme.  An  average  winter  trip  requires  from  a  day 
and  a  half  to  two  days  and  a  half  from  Reno.  From  the 
base  of  the  mountain  the  ascent  must  be  made  on  snow-shoes. 
When  work  first  began  there  was  no  building  on  the  summit, 
and  no  shelter  station  on  the  way.  Imagine  these  brave 
fellows,  daring  the  storms  and  blizzards  and  fierce  tempera- 
tures of  winter  calmly  ascending  these  rugged  and  steep 
slopes,  in  the  face  of  every  kind  of  winter  threat,  merely  to 


THE  MOUNT  ROSE  OBSERVATORY      331 

make  scientific  observations.  In  March,  1906,  Professor 
Johnson  and  Dr.  Rudolph  spent  the  night  at  timber-line  in 
a  pit  dug  in  the  snow  to  obtain  protection  from  a  gale,  at 
the  temperature  of  5°  Fahr.  below  zero,  and  fought  their 
way  to  the  summit.  But  so  withering  was  the  gale  at  that 
altitude  even  at  mid-day,  that  a  precipitate  retreat  was  made 
to  avoid  freezing.  The  faces  of  the  climbers  showed  plainly 
the  punishment  received.  Three  days  later  Dr.  Church  at- 
tempted to  rescue  the  record  just  as  the  storm  was  passing. 
He  made  his  way  in  an  impenetrable  fog  to  10,000  feet, 
when  the  snow  and  ice-crystals  deposited  by  the  storm  in  a 
state  of  unstable  equilibrium  on  crust  and  trees  were  hurled 
by  a  sudden  gale  high  into  the  air  in  a  blinding  blizzard. 
During  his  retreat  he  wandered  into  the  wildest  part  of  the 
mountain  before  he  escaped  from  the  skirts  of  the  storm. 

Other  experiences  read  like  chapters  from  Peary's  or  Nan- 
sen's  records  in  the  Frozen  North,  and  they  are  just  as  heroic 
and  thrilling.  Yet  in  face  of  all  these  physical  difficulties, 
which  only  the  most  superb  courage  and  enthusiasm  could 
overcome.  Dr.  Church  writes  that,  to  the  spirit,  the  moun- 
tain reveals  itself,  at  midnight  and  at  noon,  at  twilight  and 
at  dawn,  in  storm  and  in  calm,  in  frost-plume  and  in  ver- 
dure, as  a  wonderland  so  remote  from  the  ordinary  experi- 
ences of  life  that  the  traveler  unconsciously  deems  that  he 
is  entering  another  world. 

In  the  last  days  of  October,  191 3,  I  was  privileged  to 
make  the  trip  from  Reno  in  the  company  of  Dr.  Church, 
and  two  others.  We  were  just  ahead  of  winter's  storms, 
however,  though  Old  Boreas  raved  somewhat  wildly  on  the 
summit  and  covered  it  with  snow  a  few  hours  after  our 
descent.  The  experience  was  one  long  to  be  remembered, 
and  the  personal  touch  of  the  heroic  spirit  afforded  by  the 
trip  will  be  a  permanent  inspiration. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

LAKE  TAHOE  IN  WINTER  ^ 

By  Dr.  J.  E.  Church,  Jr.,  of  the  University  of  Nevada 

LAKE  TAHOE  is  an  ideal  winter  resort  for  the  red- 
blooded.  For  the  Viking  and  the  near  Viking;  for 
the  man  and  the  woman  who,  for  the  very  exhilara- 
tion of  it,  seek  the  bracing  air  and  the  snow-clad  forests, 
Lake  Tahoe  is  as  charming  in  winter  as  in  summer,  and  far 
grander.  There  is  the  same  water  —  in  morning  placid,  in 
afternoon  foam-flecked,  on  days  of  storm  tempestuous.  The 
Lake  never  freezes;  not  even  a  film  of  ice  fringes  its  edge. 
Sunny  skies  and  warm  noons  and  the  Lake's  own  restless- 
ness prevent.  Emerald  Bay  alone  is  sometimes  closed  with 
ice,  but  more  often  it  is  as  open  as  the  outer  Lake.  Even 
the  pebbles  glisten  on  the  beach  as  far  back  as  the  wash  of 
the  waves  extends. 

But  beyond  the  reach  of  the  waves  a  deep  mantle  of  white 
clads  the  forests  and  caps  the  distant  peaks.  The  refuse 
of  the  forests,  the  dusty  roads,  and  the  inequalities  of  the 
ground  are  all  buried  deep.  A  smooth,  gently  undulating 
surface  of  dazzling  white  has  taken  their  place. 

The  forest  trees  are  laden  with  snow  —  each  frond  bears 
its  pyramid  and  each  needle  its  plume  of  white.  The  fresh 
green  of  the  foliage  and  the  ruddy  brown  of  the  bark  are 
accentuated  rather  than  subdued  by  their  white  setting. 
But  as  the  eye  travels  the  long  vista  of  ascending  and  re- 

1  By  courtesy  of  Sunset  magazine. 

332 


THE   FERGLSSOX   METEORUGKAl'U   ()X    THE   SUMMIT   OF  MT. 
ROSE,   WRECKED   BY    SNOW   "FEATHERS,"    SOME   OF 
WHICH  WERE  SIX  FEET  LOXG 


REFL'GI-:   nil    AX1>   II1:AI)(_)IAKTERS  FOR  SXOW  STUDIES, 
ON   ^rr.   ROSE,  9000  FEET 


LAKE  TAHOE  IN  WINTER  333 

treating  forest,  the  green  and  the  brown  of  the  near-by 
trees  fade  gradually  away  until  the  forest  becomes  a  fluffy 
mantle  of  white  upon  the  distant  mountain  side.  Above 
and  beyond  the  forest's  utmost  reaches  rise  the  mountain  crags 
and  peaks,  every  angle  rounded  into  gentle  contours  beneath 
its  burden  of  snow. 

Along  the  margin  of  the  Lake  appear  the  habitations  and 
works  of  men  deeply  buried  and  snow-hooded  until  they  re- 
call the  scenes  in  Whittier's  Snow  Bound. 

The  lover  of  the  Lake  and  its  bird  life  will  miss  the  gulls 
but  will  find  compensation  in  the  presence  of  the  wild  fowl 
—  the  ducks  and  the  geese  —  that  have  returned  to  their 
winter  haunts. 

Lake  Tahoe  is  remarkably  adapted  as  a  winter  resort  for 
three  prime  reasons:  first,  it  is  easily  accessible;  second,  no 
place  in  the  Sierra  Nevada,  excepting  not  even  Yosemite, 
offers  so  many  attractions;  third,  it  is  the  natural  and  easy 
gateway  in  winter  to  the  remote  fastnesses  of  the  northern 
Sierra. 

Among  the  attractions  preeminently  associated  with  Lake 
Tahoe  in  winter  are  boating  and  cruising,  snow-shoeing  and 
exploring,  camping  for  those  whose  souls  are  of  sterner 
stuff,  hunting,  mountain  climbing,  photography,  and  the  en- 
joyment of  winter  landscape.  Fishing  during  the  winter 
months  is  prohibited  by  law. 

If  one  asks  where  to  go,  a  bewildering  group  of  trips  and 
pleasures  appears.  But  there  come  forth  speedily  from  out 
the  number  a  few  of  unsurpassed  allurement.  These  are  a 
ski  trip  from  Tallac  to  Fallen  Leaf  Lake  to  see  the  breakers 
and  the  spray  driven  by  a  rising  gale  against  the  rock-bound 
shore,  and,  when  the  lake  has  grown  quieter,  a  boat  ride  to 
Fallen  Leaf  Lodge  beneath  the  frowning  parapets  of  Mount 
Tallac.  Next  a  ski  trip  up  the  Glen  to  the  buried  hostelry 
at  Glen  Alpine,  where  one  enters  by  way  of  a  dormer  win- 


334       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

dovv  but  is  received  to  a  cheerful  fire  and  with  royal  hospi- 
tality. 

Then  under  the  skillful  guidance  of  the  keeper,  a  day's 
climb  up  the  southern  face  of  Mount  Tallac  for  an  un- 
rivalled panoramic  view  from  its  summit  and  a  speedy  but 
safe  glissade  back  to  the  hostelry  far,  far  below. 

And  if  the  legs  be  not  too  stiff  from  the  glissade,  a  climb 
over  the  southern  wall  of  the  Glen  to  Desolation  Valley  and 
Pyramid  Peak,  whence  can  be  seen  the  long  gorge  of  the 
Rubicon.  The  thousand  lakes  that  dot  this  region  present 
no  barrier  to  one's  progress,  for  they  are  frozen  over  and 
lie  buried  deep  beneath  the  snow  that  falls  here  in  an  abun- 
dance hardly  exceeded  elsewhere  in  the  Tahoe  region. 

A  close  rival  of  these  is  the  climb  from  Rubicon  Park  up 
the  stately  range  in  its  rear  to  visit  the  mountain  hemlock, 
the  graceful  queen  of  the  high  mountain,  and  to  gaze  across 
the  chasm  at  the  twin  crags  beyond. 

And  peer  of  them  all,  though  requiring  but  little  exer- 
tion, is  a  trip  to  Brockway  to  enjoy  the  unrivalled  view  of 
the  "  Land's  End  "  of  the  Lake  and  catch  the  colors  of  the 
pansies  that  are  still  in  bloom  in  a  niche  of  the  old  sea 
wall.  If  one  possess  the  artist's  mood,  he  will  add  thereto 
a  boat  ride  round  State  Line  Point  in  the  lazy  swell  of  the 
evening  sea  beneath  the  silent  pine-clad  cliffs,  while  the  moon, 
as  beautiful  as  any  summer  moon,  rides  overhead.  Only 
the  carpet  of  snow  and  the  film  of  ice  that  gathers  from  the 
spray  upon  the  boat  keeps  one  alive  to  the  reality  that  the 
season  is  winter. 

Finally  a  rowing  trip  along  the  w'estern  shore  of  the  Lake 
with  stops  at  pleasure  en  route.  One  can  have  weather  to 
suit  his  taste,  for  the  waters  on  this  shore  are  safe  in  storm, 
and  the  barometer  and  the  sky  will  give  full  warning  long 
before  the  weather  attains  the  danger  point.  The  man  who 
loves  the  breath  of  the  storm  and  the  glow  of  excitement 


LAKE  TAHOE  IN  WINTER  335 

will  loose  his  boat  from  Tallac  when  the  clouds  swing  down 
the  canyon  and  speed  forth  borne,  as  it  were,  on  the  wings 
of  the  waves  toward  the  distant  foot  of  the  Lake  —  past  the 
black  water  wall  where  the  waves  of  Emerald  Bay  sweep 
into  Tahoe,  through  the  frothy  waters  where  the  wind  shifts 
and  whips  around  Rubicon  Point,  over  the  white  caps  of 
Meek's  Bay  until  by  skillful  maneuvering  the  jutting  cape 
is  weathered  and  quieter  water  is  found  in  McKinney  Bay. 
Full  time  there  is,  with  the  wind  astern,  to  reach  the  river's 
mouth  at  Tahoe  City,  but  the  voyager  who  loves  the  wood- 
land will  tarry  for  a  night  in  the  dense  fir  forest  of  Black- 
wood, while  his  boat  rides  safely  moored  to  the  limb  of  a 
prostrate  tree. 

Regarding  the  eastern  side  of  the  Lake,  the  bald  shore  and 
jutting  headlands,  the  fewness  of  the  landing  places,  and 
the  sweep  of  the  waves  make  cruising  in  these  waters  a  mat- 
ter of  supreme  skill  and  farsightedness.  Let  the  Viking  learn 
with  broad-beamed  boat  the  mastery  of  the  western  shore 
before  he  turns  his  boat's  prow  to  the  east. 

For  the  man  of  milder  tastes  the  motorboat  will  suffice 
or  the  mail  steamer,  which  plies  the  waters  of  Lake  Tahoe 
twice  a  week. 

In  tobogganing,  the  hills  and  open  meadows  at  Tahoe 
City  and  at  Glenbrook  will  furnish  royal  sport  for  the 
devotee.  Skating  and  ice-yachting  must  be  sought  in  re- 
gions where  the  snow  is  less  deep  and  the  cold  more  intense. 

Skiing  is  the  chief  method  of  locomotion  in  winter  at  the 
Lake  and  the  novice  soon  becomes  expert  in  the  milder 
forms  of  the  sport.  Ski  trails  thread  the  forests  at  Tahoe 
City  and  radiate  from  every  resort. 

The  open  inns  at  Tahoe  City  and  Glenbrook,  and  The 
I  Grove  near  Tallac  and  the  resorts  on  Fallen  Leaf  Lake 
i  insure  the  traveler's  comfort,  while  the  hospitality  of  the 
caretakers  at  all  of  the  resorts  is  proverbial. 


336       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

The  question  of  when  and  how  to  go  is  naturally  a  leading 
one.  During  the  months  of  November  to  April,  two  sledg- 
ing services  are  furnished  each  thrice  a  week  —  one  from 
Carson  City  to  Glenbrook,  the  other  from  Truckee  to  Ta- 
hoe  City.  (The  narrow  gauge  railway  has  also  established 
a  semi-weekly  winter  schedule.)  The  mail  boat  connects 
with  the  incoming  sledges  and  train  on  Tuesday  and  Sat- 
urday. The  route  from  Carson  City,  which  crosses  the 
heights  of  the  Carson  Range,  affords  a  superb  view  of  the 
Lake  at  sunset.  The  route  from  Truckee  traverses  the 
wooded  canyon  of  the  Truckee  River,  when  scenically  at 
its  best. 

The  traveler  who  approaches  the  Lake  by  way  of  Glen- 
brook and  leaves  by  way  of  the  canyon  of  the  Truckee  will 
have  an  experience  in  winter  travel  both  unique  and  replete 
with  beautiful  landscapes. 

The  journey  from  Truckee  to  the  Lake  can  also  be  made 
on  ski  in  one  short  day.  It  is  an  exhilarating  trip,  if  one 
travels  light.  If  one  desires  to  tarry  en  route,  he  may  carry 
his  blankets  and  food  on  his  back  or  haul  them  on  a  tobog- 
gan, and  spend  the  night  at  the  half-way  station,  known  as 
Uncle  Billy's. 

The  best  time  to  visit  the  Lake  is  after  the  heaviest  of  the 
winter  snows  have  fallen.  The  period  of  steady  and  heavy 
precipitation  occurs  in  January.  After  this  month  is  past, 
there  are  long  periods  of  settled  weather  broken  only  occa- 
sionally by  storms,  which  add  to  rather  than  detract  from 
one's  pleasure. 

The  special  equipment  requisite  for  winter  trips  to  Tahoe 
is  slight.  The  list  includes  goggles  (preferably  amber), 
German  socks  and  rubbers,  woolen  shirt,  sweater,  short 
heavy  coat,  and  mittens.  For  mountain  climbing  a  pair  of 
Canadian  snowshoes  should  be  added  to  the  equipment;  for 
traveling  on  the  level,  a  pair  of  ski  can  be  rented  at  Truckee 


LAKE  TAHOE  IN  WINTER  337 

or  the  Lake.  If  one  desires  to  camp  instead  of  stopping  at 
the  resorts  around  the  Lake,  a  tent  and  waterproof  sleeping 
bag  should  be  procured. 

The  cost  of  transportation  in  winter  is  scarcely  more  than 
in  summer.  The  sledge  trip  from  either  Truckee  or  Car- 
son Cit}'  to  the  Lake  is  $2.50,  an  amount  only  $1.00  in  ex- 
cess of  the  regular  fare  by  rail.  Board  will  cost  no  more 
than  in  summer. 

TRUCKEE 

Closely  associated  with  Lake  Tahoe  as  a  center  for  win- 
ter sports  is  Truckee,  the  natural  point  of  departure  for 
the  Lake.  Here  a  winter  carnival  is  held  annually  for  the 
entertainment  of  outsiders.  Among  the  chief  sports  are 
^y^z-racing  and  jumping  and  tobogganing.  The  toboggan 
course  is  two  thousand  feet  long  and  has  a  fall  of  one-hun- 
dred fifty  feet.  A  device  is  employed  for  drawing  the  to- 
boggans back  to  the  starting  point.  The  hotel  facilities  are 
ample.  Toboggans  and  ski  can  be  rented  for  use  here  or 
at  the  Lake.  Clothing  and  other  winter  outfits  can  be  pro- 
cured. Canadian  snow-shoes,  however,  must  be  obtained  in 
San  Francisco. 


CHAPTER  XXXVni 

LAKE   TAHOE    AS   A    SUMMER   RESIDENCE 

ONE  of  the  most  marked  differences  that  the  traveler 
observes  between  the  noted  lakes  of  Europe  and 
Lake  Tahoe  is  the  comparative  dearth  of  homes, 
summer  villas,  bungalows,  residences,  on  the  latter.  This 
is  natural.  California  and  Nevada  are  new  countries.  They 
have  scarcely  had  time  to  "  find  themselves  "  fully  as  yet. 
It  took  a  thousand  years  to  people  the  shores  of  the  Euro- 
pean lakes  as  we  find  them  to-day,  and  in  due  time  Tahoe 
will  assuredly  come  to  its  own  in  this  regard.  Indeed  as 
John  LeConte  well  wrote  a  number  of  years  ago: 

The  shores  of  Lake  Tahoe  afford  the  most  beautiful  sites 
for  summer  residences.  When  the  states  of  California  and 
Nevada  become  more  populous,  the  delicious  summer  cli- 
mate of  this  elevated  region,  the  exquisite  beauty  of  the 
surrounding  scener}%  and  the  admirable  facilities  afforded 
for  fishing  and  other  aquatic  sports,  will  dot  the  shores  of 
this  mountain  Lake  with  the  cottages  of  those  who  are  able 
to  combine  health  with  pleasure.  But  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  prolonged  severity  of  the  winter  climate,  and 
especially  the  great  depth  of  snowfall,  render  these  elevated 
situations  unfit  for  permanent  residences.  According  to  the 
observations  of  Dr.  G.  M.  Bourne,  during  the  winter  of 
1873-74,  the  aggregate  snowfall  near  the  shores  of  the  Lake 
amounted  to  more  than  thirty-four  feet.  In  fact,  fre- 
quently there  are  not  more  than  four  months  in  the  year 
in  which  the  ground  of  the  margin  of  the  Lake  is  entirely 
free  from  snow.  And  the  vast  gorges  which  furrow  the 
sides   of   the   surrounding   amphitheater   of   lofty   mountain 

338 


LAKE  TAHOE  AS  A  SUMMER  RESIDENCE     339 

peaks  are  perpetually  snow-clad.  Hence,  it  is  unreason- 
able to  assume  that  many  persons  besides  the  wealthy  will 
be  able  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  private  residences  here,  which 
can  be  occupied  only  during  the  summer  months  of  the  year. 
Nevertheless,  when  the  refinement  and  taste  incident  to  the 
development  of  an  older  civilization  shall  have  permeated 
the  minds  of  the  wealthy  classes  of  citizens,  this  charming 
lake  region  will  not  only  continue  to  be  the  favorite  resort 
of  tourists  and  artists,  but  will  become,  during  the  summer 
season,  the  abode  of  families  whose  abundant  means  enable 
them  to  enjoy  the  healthful  climate,  the  gorgeous  scenery, 
and  the  invigorating  sports  which  lend  an  inexpressive 
charm  to  the  sojourn  on  its  shores. 

Amidst  the  magnificent  nature  that  surrounds  this  re- 
gion, there  should  be  an  inspiration  corresponding  more  or 
less  with  the  grandeur  of  the  aspect  of  the  material  world. 
The  modifications  impressed  upon  the  moral  and  intellec- 
tual character  of  man  by  the  physical  aspects  of  nature,  is  a 
theme  more  properly  belonging  to  those  who  have  culti- 
vated the  aesthetic  side  of  humanity.  The  poet  and  the 
artist  can  alone  appreciate,  in  the  fullness  of  their  humaniz- 
ing influence,  the  potent  effects  of  these  aesthetic  inspira- 
tions. The  lake  districts  in  all  Alpine  countries  seem  to 
impress  peculiar  characteristics  upon  their  inhabitants. 

When  quietly  floating  upon  the  placid  surface  of  Lake 
Tahoe,  the  largest  of  the  "  Gems  of  the  Sierra  " —  nestled, 
as  it  is,  amidst  a  huge  amphitheater  of  mountain  peaks  —  it 
is  difficult  to  say  whether  we  are  more  powerfully  impressed 
with  the  genuine  childlike  awe  and  wonder  inspired  by  the 
contemplation  of  the  noble  grandeur  of  nature,  or  with  the 
calmer  and  more  gentle  sense  of  the  beautiful  produced  by 
the  less  imposing  aspects  of  the  surrounding  scener}'.  On 
the  one  hand  crag  and  beetling  cliff  sweeping  in  rugged  and 
colossal  massiveness  above  dark  waves  of  pine  and  fir,  far 
into  the  keen  and  clear  blue  air;  the  huge  mantle  of  snow, 
so  cumulus-like  in  its  brightness,  thrown  in  many  a  solid 
fold  over  ice-sculptured  crest  and  shoulders ;  the  dark  ca- 
thedral-like spires  and  splintered  pinnacles,  half  snow,  half 
stone,  rising  into  the  sky  like  the  very  pillars  of  heaven. 
On  the  other  hand  the  waving  verdure  of  the  valleys  be- 
low, the  dash  of  waterfalls,  the  plenteous  gush  of  springs, 


340       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

the  laugh  and  dance  of  brook  and  rivulet  as  they  hurry 
down  the  plains.  Add  to  this  picture  the  deep  repose  of  the 
azure  water,  in  which  are  mirrored  snow-clad  peaks,  as  well 
as  marginal  fringes  of  waving  forests  and  green  meadows, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  decide  whether  the  sense  of  grandeur 
or  of  beauty  has  obtained  the  mastery  of  the  soul. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

THE    TAHOE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

THE  Tahoe  National  Forest  was  first  set  apart  by 
proclamation,  September  17,  1906.  Previous  to 
this  there  had  been  the  Tahoe  and  Yuba  Forest 
Reserves  which  were  established  by  proclamation  under  the 
acts  of  March  3,  1891,  and  June  4,  1897.  The  original 
Tahoe  Forest  Reserve  consisted  of  six  townships  along  the 
west  side  of  Lake  Tahoe.  Part  of  this  territory  is  now 
in  the  Tahoe  and  part  in  the  El  Dorado  National  Forest. 
Changes  and  additions  were  later  made  by  proclamations  of 
March  2,  1909,  and  July  28,  1910. 

Although  Lake  Tahoe  does  not  lie  within  any  National 
Forest  it  is  almost  surrounded  by  the  Tahoe  and  El  Dorado 
Forests.  There  are  a  few  miles  of  shore-line  on  the  Nevada 
side  in  the  vicinity  of  Glenbrook  which  are  not  within  the 
National  Forest  Boundary. 

The  gross  area  of  the  Tahoe  National  Forest  is  1,272,470 
acres.  Of  this  amount,  however,  692,677  acres  are  privately 
owned.  The  El  Dorado  National  Forest  has  a  gross  area 
of  836,200  acres  with  284,798  of  them  in  private  hands. 
These  privately  owned  lands  are  technically  spoken  of  as 
"  alienated  lands." 

The  towns  of  Truckee,  Emigrant  Gap,  Cisco,  Donner, 
Fulda,  Downieville,  Sierra  City,  Alleghany,  Forest,  Granite- 
ville,  Goodyear's  Bar,  and  Last  Chance,  as  well  as  Tahoe 
City,  are  all  within  the  Tahoe  National  Forest. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  probably  350  people  living 
on  the  Forest  outside  of  the  towns.     These  are  principally 

341 


342       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

miners  or  small  ranch-owners  living  along  the  rivers  in  the 
lower  altitudes. 

Slowly  but  surely  the  people  are  awakening  to  the  great 
value  of  the  natural  resources  that  are  being  conserved  in 
the  National  Forests.  In  the  Tahoe  Reserve  the  preser- 
vation of  the  forest  cover  is  essential  to  the  holding  of  snow 
and  rain-fall,  preventing  rapid  run-off,  thereby  conserving 
much  of  what  would  be  waste  and  destructive  flood-water, 
until  it  can  be  used  for  irrigation  and  other  beneficial  pur- 
poses. 

Many  streams  of  great  power  possibilities  rise  and  flow 
through  the  Tahoe  Forest  Reserve,  such  as  the  Truckee, 
Little  Truckee,  Yuba  and  American  rivers.  Working  in 
conjunction  with  the  U.  S.  Reclamation  Service  the  Truckee 
General  Electric  Company  uses  the  water  that  flows  out  of 
Lake  Tahoe  down  the  Truckee  River  for  the  development 
of  power.  The  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Company,  of  San 
Francisco,  controls  the  waters  of  the  South  Yuba  river,  and 
its  Colgate  plant  is  on  the  main  Yuba,  though  it  obtains 
some  of  its  water  supply  from  the  North  Yuba.  Lake 
Spaulding,  one  of  the  largest  artificial  lakes  in  the  world,  is 
a  creation  of  this  same  company.  It  is  situated  near  Emi- 
grant  Gap  and  is  used   for  the  development  of  power. 

The  Northern  Water  and  Power  Company  controls  the 
Bowman  reservoir  and  a  string  of  lakes  on  the  headwaters 
of  Canyon  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  South  Yuba  river.  As 
yet  its  power  possibilities  are  not  developed. 

Through  the  activities  of  these  companies  electricity  and 
water  for  irrigation  are  supplied  to  towns  and  country  re- 
gions contiguous  to  their  lines,  and  they  have  materially 
aided   in  the  development  of  the  Sacramento  Valley. 

Only  about  five  per  cent,  of  the  Reserve  is  barren  land, 
and  this  is  mostly  situated  at  a  high  elevation  above  timber 
line.     The  tree  growth  is  excellent,  and  under  proper  di- 


THE  TAHOE  NATIONAL  FOREST        343 

rection  reproduction  could  be  made  all  that  any  one  could  de- 
sire. Fully  twenty  per  cent,  however,  of  the  present  Re- 
serve is  covered  with  chaparral.  Practically  all  of  this 
originally  was  timbered.  The  chaparral  has  grown  up  be- 
cause nothing  was  done  at  the  proper  time  to  foster  repro- 
duction over  acres  that  had  been  cut.  Systematic  and  sci- 
entific efforts  are  now  being  made  to  remedy  this  condition, 
the  rangers  being  encouraged  to  study  the  trees,  gather  seeds 
from  the  best  of  their  type,  plant  and  cultivate  them.  Tree 
cutting  is  now  so  regular  as  to  obtain  by  natural  reproduc- 
tion a  second  crop  on  the  logged-over  areas.  Where  natural 
reproduction  fails  planting  is  resorted  to.  Thus  it  is  hoped, 
in  time,  to  replant  all  the  logged-over  areas  now  owned  by 
the  government,  serving  the  double  purpose  of  conserving  the 
water-supply  and  providing  timber  for  the  needs  of  the  fu- 
ture. Much  of  the  timber-land,  however,  of  the  Tahoe  re- 
gion, is  patented  to  private  owners.  Little,  if  anything,  is 
being  done  towards  reforestation  on  these  private  tracts. 
Legal  enactments,  ultimately,  may  produce  effective  action 
along  this  needed  line. 

As  has  elsewhere  been  shown  the  world  owes  a  debt  of 
gratitude  to  the  Tahoe  region.  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
timber  secured  so  readily  from  the  Tahoe  slopes  the  mining 
operations  of  Virginia  City,  Gold  Hill  and  Dayton  would 
have  been  seriously  retarded  and  crippled.  As  it  was  the 
Tahoe  trees  were  transferred  as  mining-timbers  for  propping 
up  the  immense  and  continuous  excavations  of  that  vast 
series  of  honey-combings  underground,  the  products  of  which 
revivified  the  gold  supply  of  the  world. 

Tahoe  timber  also  has  contributed  much  to  the  upbuilding 
of  the  towns  and  country  farms  on  the  whole  upper  Pacific 
Coast  and  interior  regions  of  Northern  California,  and  to- 
day much  of  its  timber  finds  its  way  to  San  Francisco  and 
other  Pacific  Coast  markets. 


344       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

At  Floriston,  on  the  Truckee  River,  a  mill  is  in  success- 
ful operation,  using  Tahoe  fir  for  the  making  of  paper.  Red 
and  white  fir,  which  are  practically  useless  for  lumber,  are 
found  to  make  excellent  wrapping  and  tissue  papers,  and 
thus,  from  being  unremunerative  products  of  our  forests,  be- 
come sources  of  income.  After  planing  off  the  bark,  the 
wood  is  made  into  small  chips,  about  a  half  inch  square,  and 
an  eighth  of  an  inch  thick.  These  chips  are  then  "  digested  " 
by  a  process  of  mixing  with  acids  and  cooking,  through  which 
it  becomes  "  wood  pulp."  Different  processes  produce  dif- 
ferent pulps,  two  of  which  are  mixed  together,  allowed  to 
flow  out  on  a  very  fine  wire  screen  nine  feet  wide,  revolv- 
ing at  a  rate  of  300  feet  a  minute,  with  a  "  jigging  "  move- 
ment from  side  to  side.  This  makes  all  the  fibers  lie  flat. 
They  are  then  sent  through  steel  rollers,  the  water  squeezed 
out,  and  finally  carried  over  and  around  twenty-five  revolv- 
ing steam-heated  cylinders  which  completely  dry  the  paper 
and  put  the  needed  gloss  or  finish  on  it. 

The  rainfall  on  the  Tahoe  Reserve  averages  about  fifty 
inches  annually,  the  most  frequent  rains  occurring  between 
October  and  May.  Necessarily  there  is  much  snow-fall  on 
the  higher  regions.  Further  down  the  snow  disappears  in 
the  early  spring,  say  March,  but  in  the  upper  altitudes  it 
remains  until  late  June,  with  perpetual  snow  in  the  shel- 
tered portions  of  the  topmost  peaks. 

Agriculture,  owing  to  the  average  high  altitude,  is  a  negli- 
gible industry  in  the  Reserve,  little  more  being  done  than  to 
raise  a  little  fruit,  grain  and  vegetables,  mainly  for  home 
consumption.  Naturally  there  is  a  fair  amount  of  grazing, 
almost  the  whole  area  of  the  Reserve  being  used  for  this 
purpose  during  the  summer  months.  Many  portions  of 
meadow-land  are  used  for  dairy-herds,  most  of  the  hotels 
and  resorts  on  and  near  Lake  Tahoe  having  their  own  herds 
and  meadows.     Bands  of  beef-cattle  are  also  pastured,  to- 


THE  TAHOE  NATIONAL  FOREST        345 

gether  with  large  bands  of  sheep,  the  two  kinds  of  stock  often 
grazing  in  common,  the  cattle  using  the  meadows  and  the 
sheep  the  ridges  and  timber-lands.  In  taking  the  trail-rides 
described  in  other  chapters  I  invariably  came  across  both 
cattle  and  sheep,  and  all  the  near-by  meadows  are  occupied 
by  the  dairy-herds  belonging  to  the  hotels.  Patented  lands 
of  private  ownership  within  the  bounds  of  the  Forest  are 
often  also  leased  to  cattle-  and  sheep-men.  Last  year  it 
was  estimated  that  there  were  47,000  head  of  sheep,  and 
about  6000  head  of  cattle  on  the  Reserve.  Under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  rangers  grazing  conditions  are  rapidly  im- 
proving, the  cattle-  and  sheep-men  being  held  strictly  to 
certain  rules  laid  down  by  the  Supervisor.  Systematic  efforts 
are  made  to  rid  the  Forest,  as  far  as  possible,  of  predatory 
animals  that  kill  the  sheep,  also  of  poisonous  plants  which 
render  grazing  dangerous. 

There  are  far  less  cattle  on  the  Sierra  ranges  in  the  Tahoe 
region  than  there  are  sheep.  During  the  summer  most  of 
the  mountain  valleys  have  their  great  sheep-bands.  Many 
are  brought  over  from  Nevada,  and  far  more  from  the  Sac- 
ramento Valley  and  other  regions  near  the  Pacific.  The 
feed,  as  a  rule,  is  good  and  abundant  from  the  time  the 
snow  leaves  until  the  end  of  September  or  even  later. 
Though  the  year  191 3  was  the  third  dry  season  (compara- 
tively speaking)  the  region  had  suffered,  I  found  a  score  or 
more  of  meadows  in  my  rambles  around  Tahoe,  where  thou- 
sands of  sheep  might  have  had  rich  and  abundant  pasture. 

But  well  may  John  Muir  dislike  sheep  in  his  beloved 
Sierras,  and  term  them  in  his  near-to-hatred  "  the  locusts  of 
the  mountains."  When  the  most  fertile  valley  has  been 
"  fed  off  "  by  sheep,  or  they  have  "  bedded  down  "  night 
after  night  upon  it,  it  takes  some  time  before  the  young 
growth  comes  up  again. 

It  is  the  custom  when  the  lambing  season  is  over,  and  the 


346       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

lambs  are  strong  enough  to  travel  and  old  enough  to  ship, 
to  move  to  some  convenient  point  on  the  railway,  where  there 
is  an  abundance  of  feed  and  water  on  the  way,  and  there 
ship  either  to  Reno,  Carson  and  Virginia  City,  or  to  some 
market  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Hence  overland  travelers  on 
the  Southern  Pacific  trains  are  often  surprised  to  see  vast 
flocks  of  sheep  and  hear  the  bleating  of  the  lambs  at  un- 
locked for  stations  at  the  highest  points  of  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
as  at  Soda  Springs,  Cisco,  Emigrant  Gap,  Blue  Canyon,  or 
sidings  on  the  way. 

There  is  a  large  mining  industry  within  the  Reserve. 
Since  1849  the  western  part  of  the  Forest  has  been  most  ac- 
tive, one  county,  Sierra,  having  produced  since  then  upwards 
of  $200,000,000.  The  present  output  is  much  smaller  than 
formerly,  still  it  is  large  enough  to  render  mining  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  productive  wealth  of  the  state.  In  1853 
hydraulic  mining  was  inaugurated  near  Nevada  City.  This 
gave  renewed  interest  to  placer-mining. 

Four  of  the  old  emigrant  roads  cross  the  Tahoe  and  El 
Dorado  Reserves.  The  most  famous  of  these  is  the  one 
across  Donner  Pass  and  through  Emigrant  Gap.  This  was 
the  general  course  taken  by  the  unfortunate  Donner  Party, 
as  recorded  in  another  chapter. 

Another  road  was  the  Heuness  Pass  road,  on  a  branch  of 
which  was  Nigger  Tent,  a  rendezvous  of  robbers  and  cut- 
throats in  the  early  days.  Prospectors  and  miners  were  often 
robbed  and  murdered  at  this  place.  The  Heuness  Pass  Road 
and  the  Donner  Road  branch  in  Sardine  Valley,  the  former 
going  through  by  Webber  Lake,  and  the  latter  through  the 
present  site  of  Truckee.  On  the  latter  road,  in  the  vicinity 
of  You  Bet,  is  a  large  tree  which  bears  the  name  "  Fremont's 
Flagpole,"  though  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  was  ever  used 
by  Fremont  for  this  purpose. 

The  third  important  road  is  the  present  Placerville  Road, 


THE  TAHOE  NATIONAL  FOREST        347 

—  a  portion  of  the  State  Highway  and  the  great  trans-con- 
tinental Lincoln  Highway,  elsewhere  described. 

The  fourth  is  the  Amador  Grade  Road,  on  which  stood  the 
tree  whereupon  Kit  Carson  carved  his  name. 

The  Georgetown  Road  is  an  important  and  historic  fea- 
ture of  the  Tahoe  Region,  for  it  connects  Georgetown  with 
Virginia  City,  and  it  was  from  the  former  place  so  many 
Tahoe  pioneers  came.  I  have  already  referred  to  the  trail 
built  in  the  early  6o's.  Then  when  the  Georgetown  miners 
constructed  a  ditch  to  convey  water  for  mining  purposes  from 
Loon  Lake,  they  soon  thereafter,  about  '72  or  '73,  built  a 
road  about  forty  miles  long,  to  enable  them  to  reach  the 
Lake,  which  was  their  main  reservoir.  Loon,  Pleasant  and 
Bixby's  Lakes  were  all  dammed  and  located  upon  for  the 
water  company. 

When  the  Hunsakers  built  the  road  from  McKinney's  to 
their  Springs  in  1883  there  was  a  stretch  of  only  about 
seven  miles  from  Loon  Lake  to  the  Springs  to  complete  a 
road  between  Lake  Tahoe  and  Georgetown.  The  matter 
was  laid  before  the  Supervisors  of  Placer  and  El  Dorado 
Counties,  and  they  jointly  built  the  road  in  1884,  following 
as  nearly  as  possible  the  old  Georgetown  trail,  which  was 
practically  the  boundary  between  the  two  counties. 

While  automobiles  have  gone  over  it,  it  is  scarcely  good 
enough  for  that  form  of  travel,  but  cattle,  sheep  and  horses 
are  driven  over  it  constantly,  campers  make  good  use  of  it 
in  the  summer,  and  though  it  has  not  the  activity  of  the 
days  when  it  was  first  built,  it  has  fully  justified  its  exist- 
ence by  the  comfort  and  convenience  it  gives  to  the  sparsely 
settled  population  of  the  region  for  which  the  waters  of 
the  Reserve  were  flumed  in  every  direction.  When  legal 
enactment  practically  abolished  placer  mining,  owing  to  its 
ruining  the  agricultural  lands  lower  down  by  the  carrying 
of  the  mud  and  silt  upon  them,  the  water  systems  were  util- 


348       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

ized  for  domestic  and  irrigation  purposes,  thus  laying  the 
foundation  of  the  great  systems  now  being  used  for  power 
purposes. 

One  of  the  greatest  excitements  known  in  the  Tahoe  re- 
gion occurred  when  the  first  notice  of  the  discovery  of  the 
Comstock  lode  in  Virginia  City  appeared  in  the  Nevada 
City  Journal,  July  I,  1859.  Immediately  the  whole  country 
was  aroused,  fully  one-third  of  all  the  male  population  set- 
ting forth  for  the  mines.  This  was  also  one  of  the  great 
urgents  in  the  building  of  a  railway  which  soon  ultimated 
in  the  Central  Pacific. 

There  are  several  mineral  springs  of  note  on  the  Forest, 
chief  of  which  are  Deer  Park  Springs,  Glen  Alpine  Springs 
and  Brockway's. 

The  most  northern  grove  of  Big  Trees,  Sequoia  Gigantea, 
in  existence,  is  found  in  the  Tahoe  Forest,  on  the  Forest  Hill 
Divide,  near  the  southern  boundary  of  Placer  County,  on  a 
tributary  of  the  Middle  Fork  of  the  American  River.  There 
are  six  of  these  trees  as  well  as  several  which  have  fallen. 

Dotted  over  the  Reserve  are  cabins  of  the  rangers.  These 
men  live  a  most  interesting,  and  sometimes  adventurous  and 
daring  life.  Primarily  their  days  and  nights  are  largely 
those  of  solitude,  and  it  is  interesting  to  throw  a  little  light 
upon  the  way  they  spend  their  time. 

Necessarily  their  chief  thought  and  care  is  that  of  pro- 
tecting the  Forest  from  fire.  To  accomplish  this  end  fire- 
brakes —  wide  passages,  trails,  or  roads  —  are  cut  through 
the  trees  and  brush,  so  that  it  is  possible  to  halt  a  fire  when 
it  reaches  one  of  the  constant  patrols  and  watches  that 
are  maintained.  Lookout  stations  are  placed  on  elevated 
points.  In  the  fall  of  191 1  a  Lookout  Tower  was  erected 
on  Banner  Mountain,  four  miles  southeast  of  Nevada  City, 
in  which  a  watchman  with  a  revolving  telescope  is  on  duty 
day  and  night.     This  mountain  is  at  3900  feet  elevation  and 


F^h 


^Mi 


OL'TLhl    OK   LAKI-:    lAllOK,   TKrC'KKE   KU'KR 


Is    ii|.-   SHEEP   l;i-.l.\t,    li|<l\l-,.\    MMM     I  UK     I  Alli 
TIONAL  FOREST 


ISLAND   I'ARK,   LAKH  TAHOK 


THE  TAHOE  NATIONAL  FOREST         349 

affords  an  unobstructed  view  of  about  one-third  of  the  whole 
area  of  the  Tahoe  Forest. 

By  a  system  of  maps,  sights  and  signals  the  location  of 
fires  can  be  determined  with  reasonable  accuracy,  and  the 
telephone  enables  warnings  to  be  sent  to  all  concerned. 

Telephone  lines  bisect  the  Reserve  in  several  directions,  and 
fire-fighting  appliances  are  cached  in  accessible  places  ready 
for  immediate  use.  When  a  Forest  officer  is  notified  of  the 
approximate  location  of  a  fire  he  goes  immediately  with  what 
help  he  thinks  he  needs.  If  he  finds  that  the  fire  is  larger 
than  he  can  handle  with  the  available  force  at  his  command, 
he  notifies  the  Supervisor,  who  secures  men  from  the  most 
practical  point  and  dispatches  them  to  the  fire  as  soon  as 
possible,  by  automobile  or  train. 

To  give  further  fire  protection  a  gasoline  launch  —  the 
Ranger  —  twenty-six  feet  long  and  with  a  carrying  capac- 
ity of  fifteen  men,  and  a  speed  of  about  nine  miles  an  hour, 
was  placed  on  Lake  Tahoe  in  1910,  at  the  Kent  Ranger  Sta- 
tion, located  a  mile  below  the  Tavern.  The  guard  who  is 
in  charge  of  this  boat  is  on  the  Lake  about  eight  hours  each 
day,  going  up  the  Lake  in  the  morning  towards  Tallac  and 
taking  the  northern  end  of  the  Lake  in  the  afternoon.  The 
launch  is  put  in  service  each  year  about  the  15  th  of  June 
and  kept  there  until  the  fire-danger  is  over  in  the  fall.  Nor- 
mal years  this  is  about  the  15th  of  September,  but  in  19 13 
the  launch  remained  and  the  patrolman  was  on  duty  much 
later. 

If  the  guard  sights  a  fire  anywhere  within  the  watershed 
of  Lake  Tahoe,  he  immediately  obtains  men  at  the  nearest 
point  and  proceeds  to  the  fire.  Since  the  launch  has  been 
on  the  Lake  there  have  been  no  serious  fires.  Every  fire  has 
been  caught  in  its  infancy  and  put  out  before  any  damage 
has  been  done.  There  has  been  only  one  fire  of  any  size  on 
the  Lake  since  the  launch  was  installed.     This  burned  about 


350       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

20  acres  just  east  of  Brockway.  Numerous  small  fires  of  an 
acre  or  less  have  been  put  out  each  year. 

The  Forest  Guard  in  charge  of  the  launch  for  the  years 
191 2-1 3  was  Mark  W.  Edmonds.  Mr.  Edmonds  is  the  son 
of  Dr.  H.  W.  Edmonds,  who  is  now  in  the  Arctic  doing  sci- 
entific work  for  the  Carnegie  Institute. 

The  force  of  men  at  work  on  the  Reserve  varies  in  num- 
ber according  to  the  season  of  the  year.  When  the  fire- 
season  is  on  many  more  men  are  on  duty  than  in  the  winter- 
season.  The  year-long  force  consists  of  the  Supervisor, 
Deputy  Supervisor,  Forest  Clerk,  Stenographer,  thirteen 
Rangers  and  two  Forest  Examiners  who  are  Forest  School 
men  engaged  chiefly  on  timber  sale  and  investigative  work. 
The  force  in  19 13  during  the  season  of  greatest  danger  was 
fifty-six.  Some  of  the  temporary  employees  are  engaged  for 
six  months,  some  for  three  months  and  others  for  shorter 
periods.  The  longer  termed  men  are  generally  Assistant 
Rangers  who  cannot  be  employed  the  year  around,  but  who 
are  considered  first  for  permanent  jobs  that  occur  on  the 
statutory  roll  on  account  of  their  Civil  Service  standing. 

Forest  fires  are  caused  in  a  variety  of  ways,  but  chiefly 
through  inexcusable  carelessness.  Now  and  then  lightning 
produces  fire,  but  the  throwing  down  of  lighted  matches  by 
smokers,  the  butt  ends  of  cigars  and  cigarettes  that  are  still 
alight,  leaving  camp-fires  unextinguished,  or  building  them 
too  large,  allowing  fires  for  burning  waste  land  or  brush  to 
get  from  under  control  —  these  are  the  chief  sources  of  for- 
est fires.  Accordingly  the  local  and  federal  authorities  con- 
stantly keep  posted  on  Forest  Reserves  notices  calling  atten- 
tion to  the  dangers  and  urging  care  upon  all  who  use  the 
forests  for  any  purpose  whatever. 

In  addition  to  fire-fighting  the  rangers  are  required  to 
give  constant  oversight  to  the  sheep-  and  cattle-ranges,  and 
to  the  animals  that  are  brought  there,  so  that  the  feed  is  not 


THE  TAHOE  NATIONAL  FOREST        351 

eaten  out,  or  too  many  head  pastured  upon  a  given  area. 
Seeds  of  forest  trees  must  be  gathered  at  the  proper  season 
and  experiments  in  reforestation  conducted,  besides  a  certain 
amount  of  actual  planting-out  performed.  The  habits  of 
seed-eating  birds  and  animals  are  studied,  especially  in  rela- 
tion to  reforestation.  A  very  small  number  of  squirrels  or 
mice  can  get  away  with  a  vast  number  of  seeds  in  a  season. 
Methods  of  protecting  the  seeds  without  destroying  too  many 
of  the  wild  animals  must  be  devised. 

Available  areas  of  timber  are  sought  for  and  offered  for 
sale.  Certain  men  are  detailed  to  measure  the  trees  and 
determine  the  value  of  the  timber ;  they  must  mark  the  trees 
included  in  the  sale,  leaving  out  enough  seed-trees  for  satis- 
factory reproduction.  If  it  be  a  second  sale  over  a  cut-over 
area  the  problems  are  somewhat  altered.  Will  the  trees  that 
are  left  suffer  from  wind-fall?  If  partially  suppressed  trees 
are  left  can  they  be  depended  upon  to  recover  and  make  a 
good  growth? 

Then,  too,  the  questions  of  natural  versus  artificial  refor- 
estation have  to  be  scientifically  studied  and  exhaustive  tests 
made.  Shall  seeds  be  sown,  or  shall  young  trees  be  planted? 
Which  trees  are  best  suited  for  certain  localities,  and  which 
are  the  more  profitable  when  grown? 

j  To  many  people  it  is  not  known  that  dwellers  in  or  near 
I  National  Forests  can  obtain  free  of  charge  timber  for  their 
domestic  needs.  The  rangers  determine  where  this  "  free 
area  "  shall  be  located,  exactly  what  trees,  whether  dead  or 
alive,  shall  be  taken,  and  endeavor  to  lay  down  rules  that 
shall  give  equal  chances  for  all  comers. 

As  one  of  the  mottos  of  the  Forest  Service  is  "  the  great- 
jest  good  to  the  greatest  number,"  small  sales  are  encouraged 
lto  those  who  wish  to  make  their  own  lumber  or  shakes. 
Settlers  in  remote  localities  are  often  helped  in  this  manner. 

Cases  of  trespass  have  to  be  guarded  against,  and  now  and 


I 


352       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

again  suits  have  had  to  be  brought  against  loggers  for  en- 
croaching upon  the  territory  of  the  Reserve,  and  removing 
timber  which  they  had  not  purchased. 

In  191 1  every  District  Ranger  was  appointed  a  Deputy 
Fish  and  Game  Commissioner  and  thus  was  duly  authorized 
to  enforce  the  law  in  regard  to  fish  and  game. 

Another  subject  of  interest  and  importance  to  the  ranger 
is  the  study  of  insect  infestation.  Many  trees  are  killed  an- 
nually by  certain  insects,  and  these  must  be  discovered  and 
their  devastation  prevented. 

Then,  too,  there  are  diseases  and  parasites  that  affect  the 
trees,  and  this  branch  of  study  demands  constant  attention. 

Hence  it  will  be  seen  that  the  office  of  the  Forest  Ranger 
is  by  no  means  a  sinecure.  He  works  hard  and  he  works 
long  and  alone  and  our  kindly  thoughts  should  go  out  to 
him  in  his  solitary  patrols  and  vigils. 

The  present  Supervisor  of  the  Tahoe  Forest  is  Richard 
L.  P.  Blgelow,  to  whose  kindness  I  am  indebted  for  much 
of  the  information  contained  in  this  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XL 

PUBLIC    USE    OF   THE    WATERS   OF   LAKE   TAHOE 

THERE  has  always  been  considerable  discussion  and 
dissension  among  conflicting  interests  as  to  the  use 
of  the  waters  of  Lake  Tahoe  for  private  or  semi- 
public  uses,  and,  finally,  in  1903  the  U.  S.  Reclamation  Serv- 
ice entered  into  the  field.  At  my  request  Mr.  D.  W.  Cole, 
engineer-in-charge  of  the  Truckee-Carson  project,  kindly 
furnishes  the  following  data: 

Along  in  the  6o's  of  the  last  century  the  region  around 
the  Lake  acquired  great  importance  on  account  of  the  fine 
growth  of  timber  on  the  surrounding  mountain  slopes.  It 
^is  said  that  a  great  many  million  feet  of  lumber  were  har- 
vested in  this  region.  For  many  years  the  entire  lumber 
supply  for  the  old  Comstock  mines  was  derived  from  this 
source.  Virginia  City,  Carson  City  and  the  neighboring 
mining  communities  were  built  from  the  timber  of  the  Lake 
Tahoe  basin,  and  it  might  be  said  that  the  foundation  of 
the  fortunes  of  the  California  gold  kings,  who  developed 
the  Comstock  mines,  was  made  of  the  pine  wood  which 
/grew  upon  the  shores  of  Lake  Tahoe,  without  which  that 
wonderful  output  of  $700,000,000  of  gold  from  the  Com- 
stock lode  would  have  been   impossible. 

Supplementing  the  timber  supply  the  water  from  Mar- 
lette  Lake,  a  tributary  to  Lake  Tahoe,  was  diverted  by  a 
remarkable  engineering  achievem.ent  for  supplying  Virginia 
City  and  the  deep  mines.  Marlette  Lake  lies  several  hun- 
dred feet  above  Lake  Tahoe  on  the  Nevada  side,  and  half 
a  century  ago  its  waters  were  taken  through  flume,  tunnel 
and  pipe  line  across  the  dividing  mountain  range  and  out 
into  the  desert  valley  of  the  Carson  River  for  sustaining 

353 


354       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

gold  seekers  of  Virginia  City.  This  work  of  the  pioneer 
engineers  was  scarcely  less  bold  in  its  conception  and  won- 
derful in  its  execution  than  the  famous  Sutro  tunnel  which 
drains  the  underground  waters  from   the  Comstock  mines. 

About  1870  the  first  use  of  Lake  Tahoe  for  other  than 
navigation  purposes  was  made  by  building  a  log  crib  dam 
at  the  outlet  for  the  purpose  of  storing  flood-waters  to  be 
used  in  log-driving  in  the  Truckee  River  below  the  Lake. 

The  outlet  of  the  Lake  was  in  a  land  grant  section  be- 
longing to  the  Central  Pacific  Railway  Company,  and  one 
of  the  earlier  lumber  companies  procured  a  charter  from  the 
State  of  California  and  proceeded  to  build  a  dam  and  op- 
erate it  for  log-driving  purposes. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  development  of  water-power  in 
the  Truckee  River  below  the  Lake  became  of  considerable 
importance,  both  for  saw-mill  and  other  manufacturing  pur- 
poses. The  dam  at  the  Lake's  outlet  was  passed  from  the 
possession  of  the  Donner  Boom  &  Lumber  Company  into 
the  hands  of  other  interests  who  were  making  a  larger  use 
of  power. 

Eventually,  in  the  last  decade  of  the  century,  the  water- 
power  plants  were  converted  into  hydro-electric  plants  and 
began  to  furnish  electric  current  for  power  and  lighting  in 
the  city  of  Reno  and  as  far  south  as  Virginia  City. 

About  the  year  1908  the  ownership  of  the  several  hydro- 
electric plants  was  passed  to  the  Truckee  River  General 
Electric  Company,  under  the  management  of  the  Stone  & 
Webster  Engineering  Corporation,  of  Boston,  one  of  the 
very  large  public  utilities  corporations  of  the  country. 

This  company  has  enlarged  and  improved  the  plants  and 
is  now  furnishing  a  large  amount  of  electric  current  for  all 
purposes  in  Reno,  Virginia  City,  Carson  City,  Yerington, 
Thompson,  Minden  and  various  other  towns  and  mining 
camps  in  the  State  of  Nevada,  forming  a  group  of  com- 
munities which  are  wholly  dependent  upon  this  power  for 
their  various  purposes. 

In  1903  the  United  States  Reclamation  Service  filed  an 
appropriation  of  all  surplus  waters  which  had  theretofore 
gone  to  waste  from  Lake  Tahoe,  and  under  this  appropria- 
tion, with  others  covering  waters  in  the  Carson  River,  the 


PUBLIC  USE  OF  TAHOE  WATERS        355 

Truckee-Carson  Reclamation  Project  in  Nevada  was  com- 
menced. 

By  this  irrigation  project  it  is  proposed  to  cover  an  area 
of  about  206,000  acres,  of  which  35,000  acres  are  now  be- 
ing irrigated  and  about  500  families  have  their  homes  upon 
productive  lands,  which  were  formerly  a  part  of  the  great 
desert  which  was  traversed  with  much  suffering  by  the 
pioneer  gold  seekers. 

In  1908  the  Reclamation  Service  entered  into  negotiations 
for  the  purchase  of  the  real  estate  and  dam  controlling  the 
outlet  of  Lake  Tahoe,  but  before  the  purchase  was  con- 
cluded the  reorganized  power  company  secured  possession 
of  the  property,  A  condemnation  suit  was  then  brought 
by  the  United  States  to  acquire  possession  and  control  of 
the  Lake's  outlet.  A  contract  was  entered  into  with  the 
power  company  for  the  joint  building  of  a  new  dam  with 
gates  for  controlling  the  outlet  from  the  Lake.  This  dam 
was  partly  built  in  1909,  replacing  a  portion  of  the  old  tim- 
ber structure.  Owing  to  various  complications  this  new 
cement  dam  has  stood  in  an  uncomplete  condition  until  the 
fall  of  1913  when  arrangements  were  made  for  its  comple- 
tion, and  now  the  structure  is  entirely  done  and  is  well 
adapted  to  control  the  outlet  from  the  Lake  so  as  to  hold 
the  waters  at  satisfactory  levels  according  to  the  various 
uses  for  which  the  water  is  required. 

There  have  been  confusing  statements  made  in  the  pub- 
lic press  and  otherwise  concerning  the  intentions  and  actions 
of  the  Reclamation  Service  and  of  the  power  company. 
The  gist  of  the  whole  matter  is  that  both  the  Reclamation 
Service  and  the  power  company  have  proposed  by  means  of 
the  new  dam  to  regulate  the  Lake  within  a  range  of  six 
feet  vertically,  this  being  well  within  the  limits  of  fluctua- 
tions which  have  occurred  during  the  past  40  years  when 
the  Lake  has  been  partially  controlled  by  means  of  the  old 
logging  dam,  and  during  which  period  the  navigation  and 
resort  interests  have  taken  the  place  of  the  lumber  business 
in  the  commercial  aspects  of  the  Lake. 

The  records  show  that  during  these  40  years  the  Lake 
has  fluctuated  to  the  extent  of  a  little  more  than  eight  feet 
between  low  and  high  water  marks. 


356       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

The  landowners  around  the  Lake  are  principally  inter- 
ested in  its  esthetic  qualities  as  a  basis  for  the  commercial  in- 
terests involved  in  the  tourist  traffic  and  summer  resort 
business.  These  interests  w^ould  naturally  desire  the  Lake 
to  be  held  at  a  fixed  level. 

Likew^ise  the  navigation  interests  which  operate  a  large 
number  of  boats  of  various  sizes  would  be  best  pleased  with 
a  stationary  level  of  the  Lake,  in  order  that  their  wharves 
and  boat  routes  might  be  built  and  maintained  for  a  single 
level  of  the  water. 

On  the  other  hand  the  natural  conditions  and  the  use  of 
water  for  power  and  irrigation,  which  are  among  the  older 
vested  rights,  require  the  Lake  to  be  used  to  some  extent  as 
a  storage  reservoir,  which  implies  a  fluctuating  level. 

The  whole  problem  is  to  reconcile  these  various  interests 
so  as  to  derive  the  greatest  possible  economic  advantages 
while  maintaining  the  great  beauties  of  the  Lake  for  those 
whose  interests  lie  mainly  in  that  direction. 

There  has  been  suspicion  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  ri- 
parian owners  that  either  the  power  company  or  the  Gov- 
ernment, or  both,  have  been  entertaining  ulterior  motives 
with  the  purpose  of  drawing  down  the  Lake  to  unprece- 
dented levels  and  of  extracting  from  the  Lake  an  amount  of 
water  greater  than  the  average  annual  inflow.  It  may  be 
stated  once  for  all  that  there  has  never  been  such  a  purpose 
and  that  all  calculations  of  the  available  water  in  the  Lake 
have  been  based  upon  a  long  record  of  seasonable  fluctuations 
which  prove  that  the  average  annual  outflow  from  the  Lake 
is  about  300,000  acre  feet. 

All  plans  have  contemplated  the  use  of  only  this  average 
amount  of  water  annually. 

The  Lake  has  an  area  of  193  square  miles.  The  eleva- 
tion of  its  high-water  mark  has  been  at  6231.3,  whereas  its 
low-water  mark  is  recorded  at  elevation  6223.1  above  sea 
level. 

Should  the  Government  be  successful  in  acquiring  the 
outlet  property  from  the  power  company  by  the  condemna- 
tion suit  now  in  court,  it  is  proposed  to  operate  the  gates 
of  the  dam  at  all  times  so  as  to  maintain  the  Lake  at  the 
highest  level  consistent  with  the  maintenance  of  a  desirable 
shore-line  and  the  conservation  of  water  for  the  public  utili- 


PUBLIC  USE  OF  TAHOE  WATERS        357 

ties.  It  is  proposed  never  to  draw  the  Lake  below  the 
previous  low-water  mark  or  to  allow  it  to  rise  as  high  as 
the  previous  high-water  mark,  at  which  low  and  high  limits 
damage  in  some  degree  was  done  to  one  or  another's  inter- 
ests at  the  Lake. 

The  regulation  proposed  by  the  Government  provides  for 
recognition  and  protection  of  all  rights  in  and  to  the  waters 
and  shores  of  Lake  Tahoe,  including  the  rights  of  the  gen- 
eral public  and  of  the  lovers  of  natural  beauty  everywhere, 
and  it  is  believed  that  the  charms,  as  well  as  the  utilities,  of 
this  paragon  of  lakes  can  more  safely  be  entrusted  to  a  per- 
manent government  agency  than  to  any  single  private  in- 
terest. 

A  few  additions  to  Mr.  Cole's  lucid  statement  will  help 
the  general  reader  to  a  fuller  comprehension  of  the  difficulty 
as  between  the  States  of  Nevada  and  California.  It  will  be 
recalled  that  Lake  Tahoe  has  an  area  of  about  193  square 
miles,  of  which  78  square  miles  are  in  the  counties  of  Washoe, 
Ormsby  and  Douglas,  Nevada,  the  remaining  115  square 
miles  being  in  Placer  and  El  Dorado  Counties,  California. 

Because  of  this  fact,  that  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  super- 
ficial area  of  the  Lake  is  in  California,  the  people  of  Cali- 
fornia claim  that  they  have  the  natural  and  inherent  right  to 
control,  even  to  determining  of  its  disposal  at  least  nearly 
two-thirds  of  the  water  of  the  Lake. 

The  situation,  however,  is  further  complicated  by  the  fact 
that  the  only  outlet  to  the  Lake  is  in  California  near  Tahoe 
City,  in  Placer  County,  into  the  Truckee  River,  which 
meanders  for  some  miles  in  a  northeasterly  course  until  it 
leaves  California,  enters  Nevada,  passes  through  the  important 
city  of  Reno,  and  finally  empties  into  Pyramid  Lake,  which 
practically  has  no  outlet. 

In  response  to  the  claim  of  California,  the  people  of  Ne- 
vada, in  which  it  appears  they  are  backed  up  by  the  U.  S. 
Reclamation  Service,  contend  that  Nature  has  already  deter- 
mined whither  the  overflow  waters  of  Lake  Tahoe  shall  go. 


358       THE  LAKE  OF  THE  SKY  — LAKE  TAHOE 

That,  while  they  do  not  wish  in  the  slightest  to  restrict  the 
proper  use  of  the  waters  of  the  Tnickee  River  by  the  dwellers 
upon  that  river,  they  insist  that  no  one  else  is  entitled  to 
their  use,  and  that  every  drop  of  superfluous  water,  legally 
and  morally,  belongs  to  them,  to  be  used  as  they  deem  proper. 
In  accordance  with  this  conception  of  their  rights  the  Ne- 
vada legislature  passed  the  following  act,  which  was  approved, 
March  6,  1913: 

That  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  Truckee-Carson  re- 
clamation project  now  being  carried  out  by  the  Reclamation 
Ser\-ice  of  the  L'nited  States  of  America,  under  the  Act  of 
Congress  approved  June  17,  1902  {^2  Stat.  p.  384),  known 
as  the  Reclamation  Act,  and  acts  amendator\-  thereof  or 
supplementary'  thereto,  consent  is  hereby  given  to  the  use 
by  the  United  States  of  America  of  Lake  Tahoe,  situated 
partly  in  the  State  of  California  and  partly  in  the  State  of 
Nevada,  and  the  waters,  bed,  shores  and  capabilitj*  of  use 
for  resen-oir  purposes  thereof,  in  such  manner  and  to  such 
extent  as  the  United  States  of  j.\merica  through  its  lawful 
agencies  shall  think  proper  for  such  purpose,  and  as  fully  as 
the  State  of  Nevada  could  use  the  same,  provided,  how- 
ever, that  the  consent  hereby  given  is  without  prejudice  to 
any  existing  rights  that  persons  or  corporations  may  have 
in  Lake  Tahoe  or  the  Truckee  River. 

At  the  present  time  (winter  of  1914-15)  the  matter  is  in 
the  courts  awaiting  adjudication,  which  it  is  to  be  hoped,  while 
being  satisfactory-  to  all  parties  to  the  suit,  will  fully  conserve 
for  the  scenic  enjoyment  of  the  world  all  the  charms  for  which 
Tahoe  has  been  so  long  and  so  justly  famous. 


I 


APPENDIX 
CHAPTER  A 

MARK   TWAIN    AT    LAKE   TAHOE 

EARLY  in  the  'sixties  the  immortal  Mark  made  his 
mark  at  Lake  Tahoe,  In  his  Roughing  It,  he  de- 
votes Chapters  XXII  and  XXIII  to  the  subject. 
With  the  kind  consent  of  his  publishers,  Harper  Bros,  of 
New  York,  the  following  extracts  are  presented. 

Later,  when  in  Italy,  he  described  Lake  Como  and  com- 
pared it  with  Tahoe  in  Innocents  Abroad,  and  while  his 
prejudices  against  the  Indians  led  him  to  belittle  the  Indian 
name  —  Tahoe  —  and  in  so  doing  to  make  several  errors  of 
statement,  the  descriptions  are  excellent  and  the  interested 
reader  is  referred  to  them  as  being  well  worthy  his  attention. 

Chapter  XXII,  Roughing  It. —  We  had  heard  a  world 
of  talk  about  the  marvelous  beauty  of  Lake  Tahoe,  and  finally 
curiosity  drove  us  thither  to  see  it.  Three  or  four  members 
of  the  Brigade  ^  had  been  there  and  located  some  timber  lands 
on  its  shores  and  stored  up  a  quantity  of  provisions  in  their 
camp.     We  strapped  a  couple  of  blankets  on  our  shoulders 

1  The  "  Brigade  "  to  which  the  distinguished  humorist  here  refers 
was  a  company  of  fourteen  camp-followers  of  the  Governor  of 
Nevada,  who  boarded  at  the  same  house  as  Mark,  that  of  Mrs. 
O'Flannigan.  They  had  joined  the  Governor's  retinue  "  by  their 
own  election  at  New  York  and  San  Francisco,  and  came  along,  feel- 
ing that  in  the  scuffle  for  little  territorial  crumbs  and  offices  they  could 
not  make  their  condition  more  precarious  than  it  was,  and  might 
reasonably  expect  to  make  it  better.  They  were  popularly  known 
as  the  '  Irish  Brigade,'  though  there  were  only  four  or  five  Irishmen 
among  them." 

359 


36o  APPENDIX 

and  took  an  ax  apiece  and  started  —  for  we  intended  to  take 
up  a  wood  ranch  or  so  ourselves  and  become  wealthy.  We 
were  on  foot.  The  reader  will  find  it  advantageous  to  go  on 
horseback.  We  were  told  that  the  distance  was  eleven  miles. 
We  tramped  a  long  time  on  level  ground,  and  then  toiled 
laboriouslj'  up  a  mountain  about  a  thousand  miles  high  and 
looked  over.  No  lake  there.  We  descended  on  the  other 
side,  crossed  the  valley  and  toiled  up  another  mountain  three 
or  four  thousand  miles  high,  apparently,  and  looked  over 
again.  No  lake  yet.  We  sat  down  tired  and  perspiring, 
and  hired  a  couple  of  Chinamen  to  curse  those  people  who 
had  beguiled  us.  Thus  refreshed,  we  presently  resumed  the 
march  with  renewed  vigor  and  determination.  We  plodded 
on,  two  or  three  hours  longer,  and  at  last  the  Lake  burst 
upon  us  —  a  noble  sheet  of  blue  water  lifted  six  thousand 
three  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  walled  in 
by  a  rim  of  snowclad  mountain  peaks  that  towered  aloft  full 
three  thousand  feet  higher  still!  It  was  a  vast  oval,  and 
one  would  have  to  use  up  eighty  or  a  hundred  good  miles 
in  traveling  around  it.  As  it  lay  there  with  the  shadows 
of  the  mountains  brilliantly  photographed  upon  its  still  sur- 
face I  thought  it  must  surely  be  the  fairest  picture  the 
whole  earth  affords. 

.  .  .  After  supper  as  the  darkness  closed  down  and  the 
stars  came  out  and  spangled  the  great  mirror  with  jewels, 
we  smoked  meditatively  in  the  solemn  hush  and  forgot  our 
troubles  and  our  pains.  In  due  time  we  spread  our  blankets 
in  the  warm  sand  between  two  large  bowlders  and  soon  fell 
asleep.  .  .  .  The  wind  rose  just  as  we  were  losing  con- 
sciousness, and  we  were  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  beating  of  the 
surf  upon  the  shore. 

It  is  always  very  cold  on  that  Lake  shore  in  the  night, 
but  we  had  plenty  of  blankets  and  were  warm  enough.  We 
never  moved  a  muscle  all  night,  but  waked  at  early  dawn 
in  the  original  positions,  and  got  up  at  once  thoroughly  re- 
freshed, free  from  soreness,  and  brim  full  of  friskiness. 
There  is  no  end  of  wholesome  medicine  in  such  an  experi- 
ence. That  morning  we  could  have  whipped  ten  such 
people  as  we  were  the  day  before  —  sick  ones  at  any  rate. 
But  the  world  is  slow,  and  people  will  go  to  "  water  cures  " 
and   "  movement  cures "   and   to  foreign   lands  for   health. 


I 
I 


MARK  TWAIN  AT  LAKE  TAHOE         361 

Three  months  of  camp  life  on  Lake  Tahoe  would  restore 
an  Egyptian  mummy  to  his  pristine  vigor,  and  give  him  an 
appetite  like  an  alligator.  I  do  not  mean  the  oldest  and 
driest  mummies,  of  course,  but  the  fresher  ones.  The  air 
up  there  in  the  clouds  is  very  pure  and  fine,  bracing  and 
delicious.  And  v^^hy  shouldn't  it  be?  —  It  is  the  same  the 
angels  breathe.  I  think  that  hardly  any  amount  of  fatigue 
can  be  gathered  together  that  a  man  cannot  sleep  off  in  one 
night  on  the  sand  by  its  side.  Not  under  a  roof,  but  under 
the  sky ;  it  seldom  or  never  rains  there  in  the  summer  time. 

.  .  .  Next  morning  while  smoking  the  pipe  of  peace 
after  breakfast  we  watched  the  sentinel  peaks  put  on  the  glory 
of  the  sun,  and  followed  the  conquering  light  as  it  swept  down 
among  the  shadows,  and  set  the  captive  crags  and  forests 
free.  We  watched  the  tinted  pictures  grow  and  brighten 
upon  the  water  till  every  little  detail  of  forest,  precipice, 
and  pinnacle  was  wrought  in  and  finished,  and  the  miracle 
of  the  enchanter  complete.     Then  to  "  business." 

That  is,  drifting  around  in  the  boat.  We  were  on  the 
north  shore.  There,  the  rocks  on  the  bottom  are  some- 
times gray,  sometimes  white.  This  gives  the  marvelous 
transparency  of  the  water  a  fuller  advantage  than  it  has 
elsewhere  on  the  Lake.  We  usually  pushed  out  a  hundred 
yards  or  so  from  the  shore,  and  then  lay  down  on  the 
thwarts  in  the  sun,  and  let  the  boat  drift  by  the  hour  whither 
it  would.  We  seldom  talked.  It  interrupted  the  Sabbath 
stillness,  and  marred  the  dreams  the  luxurious  rest  and  in- 
dolence brought.  The  shore  all  along  was  indented  with 
deep,  curved  bays  and  coves,  bordered  by  narrow  sand- 
beaches;  and  where  the  sand  ended,  the  steep  mountain-sides 
rose  right  up  aloft  into  space  —  rose  up  like  a  vast  wall  a 
little  out  of  the  perpendicular,  and  thickly  wooded  with  tall 
pines. 

So  singularly  clear  was  the  water,  that  where  it  was 
only  twenty  or  thirty  feet  deep  the  bottom  v.-as  so  perfectly 
distinct  that  the  boat  seemed  floating  in  the  air!  Yes, 
where  it  was  even  eighty  feet  deep.  Every  little  pebble  was 
distinct,  every  speckled  trout,  every  hand's-breadth  of  sand. 
Often,  as  we  lay  on  our  faces,  a  granite  bowlder,  as  large 
as  a  village  church,  would  start  out  of  the  bottom  appar- 
ently, and  seem  climbing  up  rapidly  to  the  surface,  till  pres- 


362  APPENDIX 


I 


ently  it  threatened  to  touch  our  faces,  and  we  could  not  re- 
sist the  impulse  to  seize  an  oar  and  avert  the  danger.  But 
the  boat  would  float  on,  and  the  bowlder  descend  again, 
and  then  we  could  see  that  when  we  had  been  exactly  above 
it,  it  must  have  been  twenty  or  thirty  feet  below  the  surface. 
Down  through  the  transparency  of  these  great  depths,  the  w 
water  was  not  merely  transparent,  but  dazzlingly,  brilliantly  fl 
so.  All  objects  seen  through  it  had  a  bright,  strong  vivid- 
ness, not  only  of  outline,  but  of  every  minute  detail,  which 
they  would  not  have  had  when  seen  simply  through  the 
same  depth  of  atmosphere.  So  empty  and  airy  did  all 
spaces  seem  below  us,  and  so  strong  was  the  sense  of  float- 
ing high  aloft  in  mid-nothingness,  that  we  called  these  boat- 
excursions  "  balloon-voyages." 

We  fished  a  good  deal,  but  we  did  not  average  one 
fish  a  week.  We  could  see  trout  by  the  thousand  winging 
about  in  the  emptiness  under  us,  or  sleeping  in  shoals  on  the 
bottom,  but  they  would  not  bite  —  they  could  see  the  line 
too  plainly,  perhaps.  We  frequently  selected  the  trout  we 
wanted,  and  rested  the  bait  patiently  and  persistently  on  the 
end  of  his  nose  at  a  depth  of  eighty  feet,  but  he  would  only 
shake  it  off  with  an  annoyed  manner,  and  shift  his  position.^ 

1  These  extracts  are  made  from  Mark  Twain's  copyrighted  works 
by  especial  arrangement  with  his  publishers,  Harper  &  Bros.,  New 
York. 


CHAPTER  B 

MARK  TWAIN   AND  THE   FOREST  RANGERS 

IN  a  quarterly  magazine  published  solely  for  the  Rangers 
of  the  Tahoe  Reserve,  one  of  the  Rangers  thus 
"  newspaperizes "  Mark's  experiences  in  two  different 
sketches,  one  as  it  was  in  1861  "  before  "  the  establishment 
of  the  Reserve,  and  the  other  as  it  would  be  "  now." 

AS   IT  WAS  IN    1 86 1 

Extract  from  January  Harper's. —  Mark  Twain  heard 
that  the  timber  around  Lake  Bigler  (Tahoe)  promised  vast 
wealth  which  could  be  had  for  the  asking.  He  decided  to 
locate  a  timber  claim  on  its  shores.  He  went  to  the  Lake 
with  a  young  Ohio  lad,  staked  out  a  timber  claim,  and  made 
a  semblance  of  fencing  it  and  of  building  a  habitation,  to 
comply  with  the  law.  They  did  not  sleep  in  the  house,  of 
which  Mark  Twain  says:  "  It  never  occurred  to  us  for  one 
thing,  and  besides,  it  was  built  to  hold  the  ground,  and  that 
was  enough.     We  did  not  wish  to  strain  it." 

They  lived  by  their  camp-fire  on  the  borders  of  the 
Lake  and  one  day  —  it  was  just  at  nightfall  —  it  got  away 
from  them,  fired  the  Forest,  and  destroyed  their  fence  and 
habitation.  His  picture  of  the  superb  night  spectacle  — 
the  mighty  mountain  conflagration  —  is  splendidly  vivid. 

"  The  level  ranks  of  flame  were  relieved  at  intervals  by 
the  standard-bearers,  as  we  called  the  tall  dead  trees, 
wrapped  in  fire,  and  waving  their  blazing  banners  a  hun- 
dred feet  in  the  air.  Then  we  could  turn  from  the  scene 
to  the  Lake  and  see  every  branch  and  leaf,  and  cataract  of 
flame  upon  its  banks  perfectly  reflected,  as  in  a  gleaming, 
fiery  mirror.  The  mighty  roaring  of  the  conflagration,  to- 
gether with  our  solitary  and  somewhat  unsafe  position  (Jroi 

363 


364  APPENDIX 

there  was  no  one  within  six  miles  of  us),  rendered  the  scene 
very  impressive," 

AS   IT   WOULD    BE    NOW 

Press  Dispatch, — August  15,  1912.  1 

MARK  TWAIN  FIRES  FOREST!   !   ! 


NOTED     HUMORIST     CHARGED     BY     FOREST     OFFICERS     WITH 
CRIMINAL   CARELESSNESS 


Mark  Twain  and  a  friend  from  Ohio,  who  have  been 
camping  on  Lake  Tahoe,  are  responsible  for  a  Forest  fire 
which  burned  over  about  200  acres  before  it  was  checked 
by  Forest  officers.  The  fire  was  sighted  at  6  o'clock  p.  M. 
by  one  of  the  cooperative  patrolmen  of  the  Crown  Columbia 
Paper  Company,  who  at  once  telephoned  to  the  tender  of 
the  Launch  '  Ranger  '  for  help.  Within  an  hour  the  launch 
was  on  the  scene  with  a  dozen  men  picked  up  at  Tahoe  City, 
and  by  10  o'clock  the  fire  was  practically  under  control. 

Twain  and  his  friend  were  found  spell-bound  by  the 
Rangers,  at  the  impressiveness  of  the  fire.  After  fighting  it 
for  several  hours,  however,  its  grandeur  palled  upon  them, 
and  at  the  present  time  they  are  considerably  exercised  in- 
asmuch as  it  was  ascertained  that  the  fire  was  a  result  of 
their  carelessness  in  leaving  a  camp-fire  to  burn  unattended. 
It  is  extremely  likely  that  the  well-known  humorist  will  find 
the  penalty  attendant  to  his  carelessness,  no  "  joking  "  mat- 
ter. 

To  which  I  take  the  liberty  of  adding  the  following: 

SUBSEQUENT    PROCEEDINGS 

From  the  Nevada  City  Bulletin,  Sept,  6,  1912. 

Samuel  L.  Clemens  (popularly  known  as  Mark  Twain), 
together  with  Silas  Snozzlebottom,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  was 
to-day  arraigned  before  Justice  Brown,  of  the  Superior 
Court,  charged  with  having  caused  a  destructive  fire  by 
leaving    his    campfire    unattended.     The    eminent    humorist 


MARK  TWAIN  AND  THE  RANGERS       365 

and  author  was  evidently  unaware  of  the  seriousness  of  his 
offense  for  he  positively  refused  to  engage  an  attorney  to 
defend  him.  When  called  upon  to  plead  he  began  to  ex- 
plain that  while  he  confessed  to  lighting  the  fire,  and  leaving 
it  unattended,  he  wished  the  Judge  to  realize  that  it  was  the 
act  of  God  in  sending  the  wind  that  spread  the  flames  that 
caused  the  destructive  fire  which  ensued.  The  Judge  agreed 
with  him,  and  then  grimly  said  it  was  a  similar  act  of  God 
which  impelled  him  to  levy  a  fine  of  $500.00  and  one  month 
in  jail  for  leaving  his  campfire  subject  to  the  influence  of  the 
wind.  The  humorist  began  to  smile  "  on  the  left,"  and  ex- 
pressed an  earnest  desire  to  argue  the  matter  out  with  the 
Judge,  but  with  a  curt  "  Next  Case !  "  Mark  was  dismissed 
in  charge  of  an  officer  and  retired  "  smiling  a  sickly  smile," 
and  though  he  did  not  "  curl  up  on  the  floor,"  it  is  evident 
that  the  subsequent  proceedings  interested  him  no  more. 


CHAPTER  C 

THOMAS   STARR    KING   AT    LAKE   TAHOE 

IN  1863  Thomas  Starr  King,  perhaps  the  most  noted 
and  broadly  honored  divine  ever  known  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  visited  Lake  Tahoe,  and  on  his  return  to  San 
Francisco  preached  a  sermon,  entitled :  "  Living  Water  from 
Lake  Tahoe."  Its  descriptions  are  so  felicitous  that  I  am 
gratified  to  be  able  to  quote  them  from  Dr.  King's  volume 
of  Sermons  Christianity  and  Humanity,  with  the  kind  per- 
mission of  the  publishers,  Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

LIVING   WATER    FROM    LAKE   TAHOE 

When  one  is  climbing  from  the  west,  by  the  smooth  and 
excellent  road,  the  last  slope  of  the  Sierra  ridge,  he  expects, 
from  the  summit  of  the  pass,  which  is  more  than  seven 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  higher  than  the  famous  pass  of 
the  Splugen,  or  the  little  St.  Bernard,  to  look  of?  and  down 
upon  an  immense  expanse.  He  expects,  or,  if  he  had  not 
learned  beforehand,  he  would  anticipate  with  eagerness,  that 
he  should  be  able  to  see  mountain  summits  beneath  him, 
and  beyond  these,  valleys  and  ridges  alternating  till  the  hills 
subside  into  the  eastern  plains.  How  different  the  facts 
that  await  the  eye  from  the  western  summit,  and  what  a  sur- 
prise! We  find,  on  gaining  what  seems  to  be  the  ridge,  that 
the  Sierra  range  for  more  than  a  hundred  miles  has  a  double 
line  of  jagged  pinnacles,  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  apart,  with 
a  trench  or  trough  between,  along  a  portion  of  the  way,  that 
is  nearly  fifteen  hundred  feet  deep  if  we  measure  from  the 
pass  which  the  stages  traverse,  which  is  nearly  three  thousand 
feet  deep  if  the  plummet  is  dropped  from  the  highest  points 
of  the  snowy  spires. 

366 


THOMAS  STARR  KING  AT  LAKE  TAHOE      367 

Down  into  this  trench  we  look,  and  opposite  upon  the 
eastern  wall  and  crests,  as  we  ride  out  to  the  eastern  edge 
of  the  western  summit.  In  a  stretch  of  forty  miles  the 
chasm  of  it  bursts  into  view  at  once,  half  of  which  is  a  plain 
sprinkled  with  groves  of  pine,  and  the  other  half  an  ex- 
panse of  level  blue  that  mocks  the  azure  into  which  its 
guardian  towers  soar.  This  is  Lake  Tahoe,  an  Indian  name 
which  signifies  "  High  Water."  We  descend  steadily  by 
the  winding  mountain-road,  more  than  three  miles  to  the 
plain,  by  which  we  drive  to  the  shore  of  the  Lake;  but  it  is 
truly  Tahoe,  "  High  Water."  For  we  stand  more  than  a 
mile,  I  believe  more  than  six  thousand  feet  above  the  sea, 
when  we  have  gone  down  from  the  pass  to  its  sparkling 
beach.  It  has  about  the  same  altitude  as  the  Lake  of  Mount 
Cenis  (6280  feet)  in  Switzerland,  and  there  is  only  one 
sheet  of  water  in  Europe  that  can  claim  a  greater  elevation 
(Lake  Po  de  Vanasque,  7271  feet).  There  are  several, 
however,  that  surpass  it  in  the  great  mountain-chains  of  the 
Andes  and  of  Hindustan.  The  Andes  support  a  lake  at  12,- 
000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  one  of  the  slopes  of  the  Himalaya, 
in  Thibet,  encloses  and  upholds  a  cup  of  crystal  water  15,600 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  covering  an  area, 
too,  of  250  square  miles.  I  had  supposed,  however,  that 
within  the  immense  limits  of  the  American  Republic,  or 
north  of  us  on  the  continent,  there  is  no  sheet  of  water  that 
competes  with  Tahoe  in  altitude  and  interest.  But  in 
Mariposa  County  of  our  State  there  are  two  lakes,  both 
small, —  one  8300  feet,  and  the  other  ii,000  feet, —  on  the 
Sierra  above  the  line  of  the  sea. 

To  a  wearied  frame  and  tired  mind  what  refreshment 
there  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  lake!  The  air  is  singu- 
larly searching  and  strengthening.  The  noble  pines,  not  ob- 
structed by  underbrush,  enrich  the  slightest  breeze  with 
aroma  and  music.  Grand  peaks  rise  around,  on  which  the 
eye  can  admire  the  sternness  of  everlasting  crags  and  the 
equal  permanence  of  delicate  and  feathery  snow.  Then 
there  is  the  sense  of  seclusion  from  the  haunts  and  cares  of 
men,  of  being  upheld  on  the  immense  billow  of  the  Sierra, 
at  an  elevation  near  the  line  of  perpetual  snow,  yet  finding 
the  air  genial,  and  the  loneliness  clothed  with  the  charm  of 
feeling  the  sense  of  the  mystery  of  the  mountain  heights, 


368  APPENDIX 

part  of  a  chain  that  link  the  two  polar  seas,  and  of  the  mys- 
tery of  the  water  poured  into  the  granite  bowl,  whose  rim 
is  chased  with  the  splendor  of  perpetual  frost,  and  whose 
bounty,  flowing  into  the  Truckee  stream,  finds  no  outlet 
into  the  ocean,  but  sinks  again  into  the  land. 

Everything  is  charming  in  the  surroundings  of  the  moun- 
tain Lake;  but  as  soon  as  one  walks  to  the  beach  of  it,  and 
surveys  its  expanse,  it  is  the  color,  or  rather  the  colors, 
spread  out  before  the  eye,  which  holds  it  with  greatest  fas- 
cination. I  was  able  to  stay  eight  days  in  all,  amidst  that 
calm  and  cheer,  yet  the  hues  of  the  water  seemed  to  become 
more  surprising  with  each  hour.  The  Lake,  according  to 
recent  measurement,  is  about  twenty-one  miles  in  length,  by 
twelve  or  thirteen  in  breadth.  There  is  no  island  visible 
to  break  its  sweep,  which  seems  to  be  much  larger  than  the 
figures  indicate.  And  the  whole  of  the  vast  surface,  the 
boundaries  of  which  are  taken  in  easily  at  once  by  the  range 
of  the  eye,  is  a  mass  of  pure  splendor.  When  the  day  is 
calm,  there  is  a  ring  of  the  Lake,  extending  more  than  a 
mile  from  shore,  which  is  brilliantly  green.  Within  this 
ring  the  vast  center  of  the  expanse  is  of  a  deep,  yet  soft  and 
singularly  tinted  blue.  Hues  cannot  be  more  sharply  con- 
trasted than  are  these  permanent  colors.  They  do  not 
shade  into  each  other ;  they  lie  as  clearly  defined  as  the  course 
of  glowing  gems  in  the  wall  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  It  is 
precisely  as  if  we  were  looking  upon  an  immense  floor  of 
lapis  lazuli  set  within  a  ring  of  flaming  emerald. 

The  cause  of  this  contrast  is  the  sudden  change  in  the 
depth  of  the  water  at  a  certain  distance  from  shore.  For  a 
mile  or  so  the  basin  shelves  gradually,  and  then  suddenly 
plunges  off  into  unknown  depths.  The  center  of  the  Lake 
must  be  a  tremendous  pit.  A  very  short  distance  from 
where  the  water  is  green  and  so  transparent  that  the  clean 
stones  can  be  seen  on  the  bottom  a  hundred  feet  below,  the 
blue  water  has  been  found  to  be  fourteen  hundred  feet  deep ; 
and  in  other  portions  soundings  cannot  be  obtained  with  a 
greater  extent  of  line. 

What  a  savage  chasm  the  lake-bed  must  be!  Empty  the 
water  from  it  and  it  is  pure  and  unrelieved  desolation.  And 
the  sovereign  loveliness  of  the  water  that  fills  it  is  its  color. 
The  very  savageness  of  the  rent  and  fissure  is  made  the  con- 


THOMAS  STARR  KING  AT  LAKE  TAHOE      369 

dition  of  the  purest  charm.  The  Lake  does  not  feed  a  per- 
manent river.  We  cannot  trace  any  issue  of  it  to  the  ocean. 
It  is  not,  that  we  know,  a  well-spring  to  supply  any  large 
district  with  water  for  ordinary  use.  It  seems  to  exist  for 
beauty.  And  its  peculiar  beauty  has  its  root  in  the  peculiar 
harshness  and  wildness  of  the  deeps  it  hides. 

Brethren,  this  question  of  color  in  nature,  broadly  studied, 
leads  us  quickly  to  contemplate  and  adore  the  love  of  God. 
If  God  were  the  Almighty  chiefly, —  if  he  desired  to  impress 
us  most  with  his  omnipotence  and  infinitude,  and  make  us 
bow  with  dread  before  him,  how  easily  the  world  could 
have  been  made  more  somber,  how  easily  our  senses  could 
have  been  created  to  receive  impressions  of  the  bleak  vast- 
ness  of  space,  how  easily  the  mountains  might  have  been 
made  to  breathe  terror  from  their  cliffs  and  walls,  how  easily 
the  general  effect  of  extended  landscapes  might  have  been 
monotonous  and  gloomy!  If  religion  is,  as  it  has  so  often 
been  conceived  to  be,  hostile  to  the  natural  good  and  joy 
which  the  heart  seeks  instinctively, —  if  sadness,  if  melan- 
choly, be  the  soul  of  its  inspiration,  and  misery  for  myriads 
the  burden  of  its  prophecy, —  I  do  not  believe  that  the  vast 
deeps  of  space  above  us  would  have  been  tinted  with  tender 
azure,  hiding  their  awfulness;  I  do  not  believe  that  storms 
would  break  away  into  rainbows,  and  that  the  clouds  of  sun- 
set would  display  the  whole  gamut  of  sensuous  splendor;  I 
do  not  believe  that  the  ocean  would  wear  such  joy  for  the 
eye  over  its  awful  abysses;  I  do  not  believe  that  the  moun- 
tains would  crown  the  complete,  the  general  loveliness  of 
the  globe. 

The  eloquent  preacher  then  continues  to  draw  other  les- 
sons from  the  Lake,  but,  unfortunately,  our  space  is  too  lim- 
ited to  allow  quotation  in  full.  The  following,  however, 
are  short  excerpts  which  suggest  the  richness  of  the  fuller 
expression : 

The  color  of  the  Lake  is  a  word  from  this  natural  Gospel. 
It  covers  the  chasms  and  wounds  of  the  earth  with  splendor. 
It  is  what  the  name  of  the  lovely  New  Hampshire  lake, 
Winnepesaukee  indicates,  "  The  Smile  of  the  Great  Spirit." 

And  this  color  is  connected  with  purity.     The  green  ring 


370  APPENDIX 

of  the  Lake  Is  so  brilliant,  the  blue  enclosed  by  it  is  so  deep 
and  tender,  because  there  is  no  foulness  in  the  water.  The 
edge  of  the  waves  along  all  the  beach  is  clean.  The  gran- 
ite sand,  too,  often  dotted  with  smooth-washed  jaspers  and 
garnets  and  opaline  quartz,  is  especially  bright  and  spotless. 
In  fact,  the  Lake  seems  to  be  conscious,  and  to  have  an  in- 
stinct against  contamination.  Several  streams  pour  their 
burden  from  the  mountains  into  it;  but  the  impurities  which 
they  bring  down  seem  to  be  thrown  back  from  the  lip  of 
the  larger  bowl,  and  form  bars  of  sediment  just  before  they 
can  reach  its  sacred  hem.  Dip  from  its  white-edged  ripples, 
or  from  its  calm  heart,  or  from  the  foam  that  breaks  over  its 
blue  when  the  wind  rouses  it  to  frolic,  and  you  dip  what  is 
fit  for  a  baptismal  font, — you  dip  purity  itself. 

The  purity  of  nature  is  the  expression  of  joy,  and  it  is  a 
revelation  to  us  that  the  Creator's  holiness  is  not  repellent 
and  severe.  God  tries  to  win  you  by  his  Spirit,  which 
clothes  the  world  with  beauty,  to  trust  him,  to  give  up  your 
evil  that  you  may  find  deeper  communion  with  him,  and  to 
recognize  the  charm  of  goodness  which  alone  is  harmony 
with  the  cheer  and  the  purity  of  the  outward  world. 

I  must  speak  of  another  lesson,  connected  with  religion, 
that  was  suggested  to  me  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Tahoe. 
It  is  bordered  by  groves  of  noble  pines.  Two  of  the  days 
that  I  was  permitted  to  enjoy  there  were  Sundays.  On 
one  of  them  I  passed  several  hours  of  the  afternoon  in  listen- 
ing, alone,  to  the  murmur  of  the  pines,  while  the  waves  were 
gently  beating  the  shore  with  their  restlessness.  If  the 
beauty  and  purity  of  the  Lake  were  in  harmony  with  the 
deepest  religion  of  the  Bible,  certainly  the  voice  of  the  pines 
was  also  in  chord  with  it. 

I  read  under  the  pines  of  Lake  Tahoe,  on  that  Sunday 
afternoon,  some  pages  from  a  recent  English  work  that 
raises  the  question  of  inspiration.  Is  the  Bible  the  word  of 
God,  or  the  words  of  men  ?  It  is  neither.  It  is  the  word 
of  God  breathed  through  the  words  of  men,  inextricably 
intertwined  with  them  as  the  tone  of  the  wind  with  the 
quality  of  the  tree.  We  must  go  to  the  Bible  as  to  a  grove 
of  evergreens,  not  asking  for  cold,  clear  truth,  but  for  sa- 
cred influence,  for  revival  to  the  devout  sentiment,  for  the 


THOMAS  STARR  KING  AT  LAKE  TAHOE      371 

breath  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  not  as  it  wanders  in  pure  space, 
but  as  it  sweeps  through  cedars  and  pines. 

In  my  Sunday  musing  by  the  shore  of  our  Lake,  I  raised 
the  question, —  Who  were  looking  upon  the  waters  of  Ta- 
hoe  when  Jesus  walked  by  the  beach  of  Gennesareth?  Did 
men  look  upon  it  then?  And  if  so  were  they  above  the 
savage  level,  and  could  they  appreciate  its  beauty?  And 
before  the  time  of  Christ,  before  the  date  of  Adam,  how- 
ever far  back  we  may  be  obliged  to  place  our  ancestor,  for 
what  purpose  w'as  this  luxuriance  of  color,  this  pomp  of 
garniture?  How  few  human  eyes  have  yet  rested  upon  it 
in  calmness,  to  drink  in  its  loveliness!  There  are  spots 
near  the  point  of  the  shore  where  the  hotel  stands,  to  which 
not  more  than  a  few  score  intelligent  visitors  have  yet  been 
introduced.  Such  a  nook  I  was  taken  to  by  a  cultivated 
friend.  We  sailed  ten  miles  on  the  water  to  the  mouth  of 
a  mountain  stream  that  pours  foaming  into  its  green  ex- 
panse. We  left  the  boat,  followed  this  stream  by  its  down- 
ward leaps  through  uninvaded  nature  for  more  than  a  mile, 
and  found  that  it  flows  from  a  smaller  lake,  not  more  than 
three  miles  in  circuit,  which  lies  directly  at  the  base  of  two 
tremendous  peaks  of  the  Sierra,  white  with  immense  and 
perpetual  snow-fields.  The  same  ring  of  vivid  green,  the 
same  center  of  soft  deep  blue,  was  visible  in  this  smaller 
mountain  bowl,  and  it  is  fed  by  a  glorious  cataract,  sup- 
ported by  those  snow-fields,  which  pours  down  in  thunder- 
ing foam,  at  one  point,  in  a  leap  of  a  hundred  feet  to  die 
in  that  brilliant  color,  guarded  by  those  cold,  dumb  crags. 

Never  since  the  creation  has  a  particle  of  that  water 
turned  a  wheel,  or  fed  a  fountain  for  human  thirst,  or 
served  any  form  of  mortal  use.  Perhaps  the  eyes  of  not  a 
hundred  intelligent  spirits  on  the  earth  have  yet  looked  upon 
that  scene.  Has  there  been  any  waste  of  its  wild  and  lonely 
beauty?  Has  Tahoe  been  wasted  because  so  few  appre- 
ciative souls  have  studied  and  enjoyed  it?  If  not  a  human 
glance  had  yet  fallen  upon  it,  would  its  charms  of  color  and 
surroundings  be  wasted  charms? 

Where  we  discern  beauty  and  yet  seclusion,  loveliness  and 
yet  no  human  use,  we  can  follow  up  the  created  charm  to 


372  APPENDIX 

the  mind  of  the  Creator,  and  think  of  it  as  realizing  a  con- 
ception or  a  dream  by  him.  He  delights  in  his  works.  To 
the  bounds  of  space  their  glorj^  is  present  as  one  vision  to  his 
eye.  And  it  is  our  sovereign  privilege  that  we  are  called 
to  the  possibility  of  sympathy  with  his  joy.  The  universe 
is  the  home  of  God.  He  has  lined  its  walls  with  beauty. 
He  has  invited  us  into  his  palace.  He  offers  to  us  the 
glory  of  sympathy  with  his  mind.  By  love  of  nature,  by 
joy  in  the  communion  with  its  beauty,  by  growing  insight 
into  the  wonders  of  color,  form,  and  purpose,  we  enter  into 
fellowship  with  the  Creative  art.  We  go  into  harmony 
with  God.  By  dullness  of  eye  and  deadness  of  heart  to 
natural  beauty,  we  keep  away  from  sympathy  with  God, 
who  is  the  fountain  of  loveliness  as  well  as  the  fountain  of 
love.  But  the  inmost  harmony  with  the  Infinite  we  find 
only  through  love,  and  the  reception  of  his  love.  Then  we 
are  prepared  to  see  the  world  aright,  to  find  the  deepest  joy 
in  its  pure  beauty,  and  to  wait  for  the  hour  of  translation 
to  the  glories  of  the  interior  and  deeper  world. 


CHAPTER  D 

JOSEPH   LECONTE  AT  LAKE  TAHOE 

JOSEPH  LeCONTE,  from  whom  LeConte  Lake  is 
named,  the  best-beloved  professor  of  the  University  of 
California,  and  its  most  noted  geologist,  in  the  year 
1870  started  out  with  a  group  of  students  of  his  geology 
classes,  and  made  a  series  of  Ramblings  in  the  High  Sierras. 
These  were  privately  printed  in  1875,  and  from  a  copy  given 
to  me  many  years  ago  by  the  distinguished  author,  I  make 
the  following  extracts  on  Lake  Tahoe: 

August  20,  (1870).  I  am  cook  to-day.  I  therefore  got 
up  at  daybreak  and  prepared  breakfast  while  the  rest  en- 
joyed their  morning  snooze.  After  breakfast  we  hired  a 
sail-boat,  partly  to  fish,  but  mainly  to  enjoy  a  sail  on  this 
beautiful  Lake. 

Oh !  the  exquisite  beauty  of  this  Lake  —  its  clear  waters, 
emerald-green,  and  the  deepest  ultramarine  blue;  its  pure 
shores,  rocky  or  cleanest  gravel,  so  clean  that  the  chafing  of 
the  waves  does  not  stain  in  the  least  the  bright  clearness  of 
the  waters;  the  high  granite  mountains,  with  serried  peaks, 
which  stand  close  around  its  very  shore  to  guard  its  crystal 
purity, —  this  Lake,  not  among,  but  on,  the  mountains,  lifted 
six  thousand  feet  towards  the  deep-blue  overarching  sky, 
whose  image  it  reflects!  We  tried  to  fish  for  trout,  but 
partly  because  the  speed  of  the  sail-boat  could  not  be  con- 
trolled, and  partly  because  we  enjoyed  the  scene  far  more 
than  the  fishing,  we  were  unsuccessful,  and  soon  gave  it  up. 
We  sailed  some  six  or  eight  miles,  and  landed  in  a  beautiful 
cove  on  the  Nevada  side.  Shall  we  go  in  swimming? 
Newspapers  in  San  Francisco  say  there  is  something  peculiar 
in  the  waters  of  this  high  mountain  Lake.  It  is  so  light, 
they  say,  that  logs  of  timber  sink  immediately,  and  bodies 

373 


374  APPENDIX 

of  drowned  animals  never  rise;  that  it  is  impossible  to  swim 
in  it ;  that,  essaying  to  do  so,  many  good  swimmers  have  been 
drowned.  These  facts  are  well  attested  by  newspaper  sci- 
entists, and  therefore  not  doubted  by  newspaper  readers. 
Since  leaving  Oakland,  I  have  been  often  asked  by  the 
young  men  the  scientific  explanation  of  so  singular  a  fact. 

1  have  uniformly  answered,  "  We  will  try  scientific  experi- 
ments when  we  arrive  there."  That  time  had  come.  "  Now 
then,  boys,"  I  cried,  "  for  the  scientific  experiment  I  prom- 
ised you !  "  I  immediately  plunged  in  head-foremost  and 
struck  out  boldly.  I  then  threw  myself  on  my  back,  and 
lay  on  the  surface  with  my  limbs  extended  and  motionless 
for  ten  minutes,  breathing  quietly  the  while.  All  the  good 
swimmers  quickly  followed.  It  is  as  easy  to  swim  and  float 
in  this  as  in  any  other  water.  Lightness  from  diminished 
atmospheric  pressure?  Nonsense!  In  an  almost  incom- 
pressible liquid  like  water,  the  diminished  density  produced 
by  diminished  pressure  would  be  more  than  counterbal- 
anced by  increased  density  produced  by  cold. 

After  our  swim,  we  again  launched  our  boat,  and  sailed 
out  into  the  very  middle  of  the  Lake.  The  wind  had  be- 
come very  high,  and  the  waves  quite  formidable.  We 
shipped  wave  after  wave,  so  that  those  of  us  who  were  sit- 
ting in  the  bows  got  drenched.  It  was  very  exciting.  The 
wind  became  still  higher;  several  of  the  party  got  very  sick, 
and  two  of  them  cascaded.  I  was  not  in  the  least  affected, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  enjoyed  the  sail  very  much.     About 

2  P.  M.  we  concluded  it  was  time  to  return,  and  therefore 
tacked  about  for  camp. 

The  wind  was  now  dead  ahead,  and  blowing  very  hard. 
The  boat  was  a  very  bad  sailer,  and  so  were  we.  We  beat 
up  against  the  wind  a  long  time,  and  made  but  little  head- 
way. Finally,  having  concluded  we  would  save  time  and 
patience  by  doing  so,  we  ran  ashore  on  the  beach  about  a 
mile  from  camp  and  towed  the  boat  home.  The  owner  of 
the  boat  told  us  that  he  would  not  have  risked  the  boat  or 
his  life  in  the  middle  of  the  Lake  on  such  a  day.  "  Where 
ignorance  is  bliss,"  etc. 

After  a  hearty  supper  we  gathered  around  the  fire,  and 
the  young  men  sang  in  chorus  until  bedtime.  "  Now  then, 
boys,"  cried  I,  "  for  a  huge  camp-fire,  for  it  will  be  cold  to- 


JOSEPH  LeCONTE  at  LAKE  TAHOE        375 

night !  "  We  all  scattered  in  the  woods,  and  every  man 
returned  with  a  log,  and  soon  the  leaping  blaze  seemed  to 
overtop  the  pines.  We  all  lay  around,  with  our  feet  to  the 
fire,  and  soon  sank  into  deep  sleep. 

August  21.  Sunday  at  Tahoel  I  wish  I  could  spend  it 
in  perfect  quiet.  But  my  underclothes  must  be  changed. 
Cleanliness  is  a  Sunday  duty.  Some  washing  is  necessary. 
Some  of  the  party  went  fishing  to-day.  The  rest  of  us  re- 
mained in  camp  and  mended  or  washed  clothes. 

At  12  M.  I  went  out  alone,  and  sat  on  the  shore  of  the 
Lake,  with  the  waves  breaking  at  my  feet.  How  brightly 
emerald-green  the  waters  near  the  shore,  and  how  deeply 
and  purely  blue  in  the  distance!  The  line  of  demarcation 
is  very  distinct,  showing  that  the  bottom  drops  off  suddenly. 
How  distinct  the  mountains  and  cliffs  all  around  the  Lake; 
only  lightly  tinged  with  blue  on  the  farther  side,  though 
more  than  twenty  miles  distant! 

How  greatly  is  one's  sense  of  beauty  affected  by  associa- 
tion !  Lake  Mono  is  surrounded  by  much  grander  and  more 
varied  mountain  scenery  than  this;  its  waters  are  also  very 
clear,  and  it  has  the  advantage  of  several  very  picturesque 
islands;  but  the  dead  volcanoes,  the  w-astes  of  volcanic  sand 
and  ashes  covered  only  by  interminable  sagebrush,  the  bit- 
ter, alkaline,  dead,  slimy  waters,  in  which  nothing  but 
worms  live;  the  insects  and  flies  which  swarm  on  its  sur- 
face, and  which  are  thrown  upon  its  shore  in  such  quantities 
as  to  infect  the  air, —  all  these  produce  a  sense  of  desola- 
tion and  death  which  is  painful ;  it  destroj's  entirely  the 
beauty  of  the  lake  itself;  it  unconsciously  mingles  with  and 
alloys  the  pure  enjoyment  of  the  incomparable  mountain 
scenery  in  its  vicinity.  On  the  contrary,  the  deep-blue,  pure 
w-aters  of  Lake  Tahoe,  rivaling  in  purity  and  blueness  the 
sky  itself;  its  clear,  bright  emerald  shore-waters,  breaking 
snow-white  on  its  clean  rock  and  gravel  shores;  the  Lake 
basin,  not  on  a  plain,  with  mountain  scenery  in  the  distance, 
but  counter-sunk  in  the  mountain's  top  itself, —  these  pro- 
duce a  never-ceasing  and  ever-increasing  sense  of  joy,  w-hich 
naturally  grows  into  love.  There  would  seem  to  be  no 
beauty  except  as  associated  w^ith  human  life  and  connected 
with  a  sense  of  fitness  for  human  happiness.  Natural 
beauty  is  but  the  type  of  spiritual  beauty. 


376  APPENDIX 

Enjoyed  a  very  refreshing  swim  in  the  Lake  this  after- 
noon. The  water  is  much  less  cold  than  that  of  Lake 
Tenaya  or  the  Tuolumne  River,  or  even  the  Nevada  River. 

The  party  which  went  out  fishing  returned  with  a  very 
large  trout.     It  was  delicious. 

I  observe  on  the  Lake  ducks,  gulls,  terns,  etc.,  and  about 
It  many  sandhill  cranes  —  the  white  species,  the  clanging 
cry  of  these  sounds  pleasant  to  me  by  early  association. 

August  22.  Nothing  to  do  to-day.  Would  be  glad  to 
sail  on  the  Lake  or  fish,  but  too  expensive  hiring  boats. 
Our  funds  are  nearly  exhausted.  Would  be  glad  to  start 
for  home,  but  one  of  our  party  —  Pomroy  —  has  gone  to 
Carson  City,  and  we  must  wait  for  him. 

I  went  down  alone  to  the  Lake,  sat  down  on  the  shore 
and  enjoyed  the  scene.  Nothing  to  do,  my  thoughts  to-day 
naturally  went  to  the  dear  ones  at  home.  Oh!  how  I  wish 
they  could  be  here  and  enjoy  with  me  this  lovely  Lake!  I 
could  dream  away  my  life  here  with  those  I  love.  How 
delicious  a  dream!  Of  all  the  places  I  have  yet  seen,  this 
is  the  one  I  could  longest  enjoy  and  love  the  most.  Re- 
clining thus  in  the  shade,  on  the  clean  white  sand,  the 
waves  rippling  at  my  feet,  with  thoughts  of  Lake  Tahoe  and 
of  my  loved  ones  mingling  in  my  mind,  I  fell  into  a  delicious 
doze.     After  my  doze  I  returned  to  camp,  to  dinner. 

About  5  p.  M.  took  another  and  last  swim  in  the  Lake. 

Pomroy,  who  went  to  Carson,  returned  7  p.  m.  After 
supper,  again  singing  in  chorus,  and  then  the  glorious  camp- 
fire. 


I 


CHAPTER  E 

JOHN   VANCE   CHENEY   AT   LAKE   TAHOE 

ONE  of  America's  poets  who  long  lived  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  then,  after  an  honorable  and  useful 
sojourn  as  Director  of  one  of  the  important  libra- 
ries of  the  East,  returned  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days 
—  John  Vance  Cheney  —  in  1882,  made  the  trip  to  Lake 
Tahoe  by  stage  from  Truckee,  and,  among  other  fine  pieces 
of  description,  wrote  the  following  which  appeared  in 
Lippincott's  for  August,  1883: 

One  more  ascent  has  been  made,  one  more  turn  rounded, 
and  behold,  from  an  open  elevation,  close  upon  its  shore. 
Lake  Tahoe  in  all  its  calm  beauty  bursts  suddenly  upon  the 
sight.  Nestled  among  the  snowy  summit-peaks  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  more  than  six  thousand  feet  above  sea-level, 
it  lies  in  placid  transparency.  The  surrounding  heights  are 
all  the  more  pleasing  to  the  eye  because  of  their  lingering 
winter-cover;  and  as  we  gaze  upon  the  Lake,  unruffled  by 
the  gentlest  breeze,  we  marvel  at  the  quiet, —  almost  super- 
natural,—  radiancy  of  the  scene.  Lakes  in  other  lands  may 
present  greater  beauty  of  artificial  setting, —  beauty  de- 
pendent largely  upon  picturesqueness,  where  vineyards  and 
ivied  ruins  heighten  the  effect  of  natural  environment, — 
but  for  nature  pure  and  simple,  for  chaste  beauty  and  na- 
tive grandeur,  one  will  hesitate  before  naming  the  rival  of 
Lake  Tahoe.  This  singularly  impressive  sheet  of  water, 
one  of  the  highest  in  the  world,  gains  an  indescribable  but 
easily-perceived  charm  by  its  remoteness,  its  high,  serene, 
cr>'stal  isolation.  Its  lights  and  shades,  its  moods  and  pas- 
sions, are  changing,  rapid,  and  free  as  the  way  of  the  wind. 

A  true  child  of  nature,  it  varies  ever,  from  hour  to  hour 

377 


378  APPENDIX 

enchanting  with  new  and  strange  fascination.  The  thou- 
sand voices  of  the  lofty  Sierra  call  to  it,  and  it  answers;  all 
the  colors  of  the  rainbow  gather  upon  it,  receiving  in  their 
turn  affectionate  recognition.  Man  has  meddled  with  it 
little  more  than  with  the  sky;  the  primeval  spell  is  upon  it, 
the  hush,  the  solitude  of  the  old  gods.  The  breath  of  pow- 
ers invisible,  awful,  rouse  it  to  the  sublimity  of  untamable 
energy;  again,  hush  it  into  deepest  slumber.  Night  and  day 
it  is  guarded,  seemingly,  by  wonder-working  forces  known 
to  man  only  through  the  uncertain  medium  of  the  imagina- 
tion. The  traveler  who  looks  upon  Lake  Tahoe  for  a  few 
hours  only  learns  little  of  its  rich  variety.  Like  all  things 
wild  and  shy,  it  must  be  approached  slowly  and  with  pa- 
tience. 

But  our  sketch  must  not  include  more  than  the  hasty 
glimpses  of  a  day.  The  stage  conveyed  us  directly  to  the 
wharf,  which  we  reached  at  ten  o'clock,  having  accomplished 
our  fourteen  mile  ride  up  the  valley  in  about  two  and  a  half 
hours.  As  we  boarded  the  little  steamer  awaiting  us  and 
looked  over  its  side  into  the  water  below,  the  immediate 
shock  of  surprise  cannot  be  well  described.  Every  pebble 
at  the  bottom  showed  as  distinctly  as  if  held  in  the  open 
hand.  We  had  all  seen  clear  water  before,  but,  as  a  severe 
but  unscholarly  sufferer  once  said  of  his  rheumatism, 
"  never  such  as  these."  The  day  being  perfect,  no  breeze 
stirring,  and  the  Lake  without  a  ripple,  the  gravelly  bottom 
continued  visible  when  we  had  steamed  out  to  a  point  where 
the  water  reached  a  depth  of  eighty  feet.  Two  gentlemen 
on  board  who  had  made  a  leisurely  trip  round  the  world  and 
were  now  on  their  way  home  to  England,  remarked  that 
they  had  seen  but  one  sheet  of  water  (a  lake  in  Japan)  of 
anything  like  equal  transparency.  It  is  presumed  that  they 
had  not  visited  Green  Lake,  Colorado. 

Our  course  lay  along  the  California  shore,  toward  its 
southern  extremity,  the  steamer  stopping  at  several  points 
for  exchange  of  mail.  These  stopping  places  are  all  summer- 
resorts,  where  the  guests,  snugly  housed  at  the  base  of  the 
mountain-range,  divide  the  time  between  lounging  or  ram- 
bling under  the  shadow  of  the  tall  pines  and  angling  for  the 
famous  Tahoe  trout  in  the  brightness  of  the  open  Lake. 
All  looked  inviting,  but  we  were  not  wholly  enchanted  un- 


JOHN  VANCE  CHENEY  AT  LAKE  TAHOE   379 

til,  gliding  past  many  a  snowy  peak,  we  suddenly  changed 
course  and  put  into  Emerald  Bay.  This  little  bay,  or  rather 
lake  in  itself,  about  three  miles  in  length,  is  the  gem  of  the 
Tahoe  scenery.  Through  its  narrow  entrance,  formed  by 
perpendicular  clifFs  some  two  thousand  feet  high,  we  moved 
on  toward  an  island  of  rock  and  a  succession  of  flashing 
waterfalls  beyond. 

For  a  time  the  dazzling  mountain-crests  and  glistening 
gorges  absorbed  attention.  So  high,  white,  silent!  We 
longed  to  be  upon  the  loftiest  one,  from  the  top  of  which 
can  be  seen  thirteen  charming  little  mountain-lakes,  mid- 
air jewels,  varying  in  feature  according  to  the  situation. 
Two  of  these  lakes,  widely  dissimilar  in  character,  are  but 
two  miles  distant  from  Tallac  House,  a  comfortable  resort 
at  the  base  of  the  noble  peak  from  which  it  takes  its  name. 

But  not  even  the  crystal  summit  ridges  delighted  us  as 
did  the  changing  waters  in  the  path  of  the  steamer.  Fol- 
lowing immediately  upon  the  transparency  preserved  to  a 
depth  of  some  eighty  feet,  a  blur  passed  over  the  surface. 
This  changed  by  imperceptible  degrees  to  a  light  green. 
The  green,  again,  speedily  deepened,  shading  into  a  light 
blue;  and  finally,  in  deepest  water  (where  the  Lake  is  all  but 
fathomless),  the  color  becomes  so  densely  blue  that  we  could 
not  believe  our  eyes.  Indigo  itself  was  outdone.  Descrip- 
tion fails;  the  blue  deep  of  Tahoe  must  be  seen  to  be  appre- 
ciated. 

The  ride  from  Glenwood  back  to  Tahoe  City  was  not  so 
calm.  The  Lake  was  considerably  agitated;  less  so,  how- 
ever, than  on  the  following  day,  when,  as  we  learned  after- 
ward, our  little  steamer  lost  its  rudder.  Owing  to  the 
gorges  in  the  mountains  upon  either  side,  through  which 
winds  rush  unexpectedly,  Tahoe  has  her  dangers.  She  is 
a  wild,  wayward  child,  but  thoroughly  lovable  throughout 
all  her  frowns  as  well  as  smiles,  equally  captivating  in  her 
moments  of  unconquerable  willfulness  as  in  her  seasons  of 
perfect  submission.  Reaching  Tahoe  City  at  four  o'clock, 
we  found  the  stage  standing  in  readiness,  and,  with  a  last, 
hasty  look  at  the  Lake,  we  were  soon  on  our  way  by  the 
banks  of  the  Truckee,  back  to  town. 


CHAPTER  F 

THE   RESORTS   OF    LAKE   TAHOE 

IN  the  body  of  this  book  I  have  given  full  account  of 
some  of  the  resorts  of  the  Tahoe  region,  including 
Deer  Park  Springs,  Tahoe  Tavern,  Fallen  Leaf  Lodge, 
Cathedral  Park,  Glen  Alpine  Springs,  Al-Tahoe,  Lakeside, 
Glenbrook  and  Carnelian  Bay. 

But  these  are  by  no  means  all  the  resorts  of  the  Bay,  and 
each  year  sees  additions  and  changes.  Hence  I  have 
deemed  it  well  briefly  to  describe  those  resorts  that  are  in 
operation  at  the  time  this  volume  is  issued. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  each  resort  issues  its  own 
descriptive  folder,  copies  of  which  may  be  obtained  from  the 
ticket  offices  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway,  the  Lake  Ta- 
hoe Railway  and  Transportation  Company,  or  the  Peck- 
Judah  Information  Bureau,  as  well  as  from  its  own  office. 
AH  the  resorts  not  already  described  in  their  respective 
chapters  are  reached  by  steamer  on  its  circuit  around  the 
Lake,  as  follows: 

HOME  WOOD 

The  first  place  for  the  steamer  after  leaving  the  Tavern 
is  Homewood,  a  comparatively  new  resort,  but  already  pop- 
ular and  successful,  conducted  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  W. 
Jost.  This  is  six  miles  from  Tahoe  City.  The  hotel  was 
built  in  19 1 3  and  has  hot  and  cold  water  piped  to  all  rooms. 

In  addition  there  are  cottages  of  two  and  three  rooms, 
which,   together  with  single  and  double  tents,  provide  for 

380 


THE  RESORTS  OF  LAKE  TAHOE         381 

every  taste  and  purse.  The  tents  are  protected  by  flies,  have 
solid  boarded  floors,  are  well  carpeted,  and  afFord  the  fullest 
opportunity  for  out-door  sleeping.  Homewood  possesses  a 
gently  sloping  and  perfectly  safe  bathing  beach  for  adults 
and  children.  It  also  boasts  a  unique  feature  in  an  open-air 
dancing  platform,  with  old-fashioned  music.  It  owns  its 
power-boat  for  excursions  on  the  Lake,  and  its  fleet  of  row- 
and  fishing-boats.  A  campfire  is  lighted  nightly  during  the 
season,  and  song  and  story  cheer  the  merry  hours  along. 

For  circulars  address  A.  W.  Jost,  Homewood,  Lake  Ta- 
hoe,  Calif. 

mckinney's 

Three  and  a  half  to  four  miles  beyond  Homewood  is  Mc- 
Kinney's.  This  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  best-established  re- 
sorts on  the  Lake,  having  been  founded  and  long  conducted 
by  that  pioneer  of  Lake  Tahoe,  J.  W.  McKinney,  as  fully 
related  elsewhere.  It  is  now  under  the  management  of 
Murphy  Brothers  and  Morgan,  and  is  essentially  a  place 
that  is  popular  with  the  crowd.  The  resort  was  built,  as 
are  all  the  older  places,  to  meet  ever-increasing  needs,  the 
main  hotel  being  supplemented  by  numerous  cottages  and 
tents.  McKinney's  has  a  fine  new  dancing-hall,  dark-room 
for  amateur  photographers,  iron  and  magnesia  springs,  fleet 
of  fishing-  and  motor-boats,  free  fishing-tackle,  etc.,  and  dur- 
ing the  season  its  accommodation  for  two  hundred  guests  is 
more  than  taxed  to  the  limit. 

For  circular  address  Murphy  Brothers  and  Morgan,  Mc- 
Kinney's, Lake  Tahoe,  Calif. 

MOANA  VILLA 

The  next  steamer  stopping-place,  about  two  hundred 
yards  from  McKinney's  is  Moana  Villa,  the  comfortable, 
unpretentious  and   homelike  resort  conducted  by   Mr.   and 


382  APPENDIX 

iVIrs.  R.  Colwell,  who  are  also  the  owners  of  Rubicon 
Springs,  reached  by  daily  stage  during  the  summer  season, 
nine  miles  from  McKinney's. 

Owning  its  own  ranch  in  the  mountains  where  milk, 
cream,  butter,  eggs,  poultry  and  game  are  plentiful,  the  table 
at  Moana  Villa  is  provided  with  all  the  substantial  and 
luxuries,  cooked  and  served  in  home  style. 

One  great  advantage  is  offered  to  guests  at  Moana  Villa, 
viz.:  they  may  divide  their  time  between  it  and  Rubicon 
Springs,  as  both  are  under  the  same  ownership  and  man- 
agement. 

The  new  Scenic  Automobile  Boulevard  passes  through  the 
700  acres  of  delightful  surroundings  which  belong  to  the 
place.  The  best  fishing  grounds  on  Lake  Tahoe  are  close 
by  and  numerous  smaller  mountain  lakes  and  streams  afford 
excellent  fly  fishing.  Deer,  bear,  grouse,  quail,  ducks,  geese 
and  other  game  abound  in  the  locality. 

Hunting,  fishing,  bathing,  boating,  dancing,  launch  trips, 
beautiful  walks  and  drives  and  numerous  games  give  ample 
opportunity  for  amusement  and  recreation.  The  assembly 
hall  and  office  is  of  logs.  Sleeping  accommodations  in  cot- 
tages and  tents  or  out  of  doors  if  desired.  Water  is  piped 
from  a  clear  mountain  spring,  and  an  equipment  of  up-to- 
date  sanitary  plumbing,  bath  and  toilet  appliances  has  been 
lately  installed. 

For  circular  address  R.  Colwell,  Moana  Villa,  Lake  Ta- 
hoe, Calif. 

pomin's 

A  little  beyond  Moana  Villa  is  Pomin's,  the  latest  ac- 
quisition to  the  resorts  of  the  Lake,  having  been  opened  in 
1914.  The  hotel  is  an  attractive,  well-equipped,  up-to-date 
structure,  located  on  a  knoll  150  feet  from  the  Lake,  and  is 
surrounded  by  pines.     Enclosed  verandas,  open  fires  in  lobby 


THE  RESORTS  OF  LAKE  TAHOE         383 

and  dining-rooms,  electric  lights,  hot  and  cold  water  in  all 
the  rooms,  tents  and  cottages  are  some  of  the  conveniences 
and  luxuries. 

There  is  an  attractive  club-house  on  the  Lake  Shore.  For 
circular  address  Frank  J.  Pomin,  Pomin's,  Lake  Tahoe, 
Calif. 

Emerald  Bay  Camp  and  Al-Tahoe  have  both  been  described 
in  their  respective  chapters. 

TALLAC 

As  explained  in  Chapter  XVIII,  Tallac  House  was  built 
by  E.  J.  (Lucky)  Baldwin.  For  many  years  it  was  the 
principal  hotel  on  the  Lake,  but  what  was  a  fine  and  su- 
perior hotel  25  years  ago  did  not  satisfy  the  demands  of  mod- 
ern patrons.  Hence  some  years  ago  Mr.  Baldwin  planned  to 
erect  a  new  hotel  near  the  site  of  the  old  one.  Unfortunately 
the  work  w'as  not  much  more  than  begun  when  he  died  and 
nothing  has  been  done  to  it  since. 

The  hotel  is  now  under  the  management  of  a  San  Francisco 
firm. 

PINE    FOREST   INN 

Built,  as  its  name  implies,  in  a  pine  grove  of  trees,  this 
Is  one  of  the  older  resorts  of  the  Lake.  It  is  unique  in  that 
it  keeps  open  throughout  the  year.  Like  the  rest  of  the 
resorts  of  its  class  it  has  hotel  and  dining-room  with  cot- 
tages and  tents.  Under  its  new  management  a  new  casino 
has  been  built,  and  every  room  and  cottage,  etc.,  equipped 
with  electric  lights.  Especial  attention  is  given  ta  camp- 
ing-, fishing-,  and  hunting-parties.  It  is  on  the  State  High- 
way between  Placerville  and  Carson  City,  Nevada,  and 
therefore  makes  all  provision  for  automobilists. 

For  circular  address  Lawrence  &  Comstock,  Pine  Forest 
Inn,  Tallac  P.  O.,  Calif. 


384  APPENDIX 

CAMP    BELL 

Located  between  Al  Tahoe  and  Bijou  is  Camp  Bell,  con- 
ducted by  Russell  W.  Bell.  The  camp  consists  of  tents  and 
an  open-air  dining-room. 

For  circular  address  Russell  W.  Bell,  128  Edgewood  Ave., 
San  Francisco,  Calif. 

BIJOU    INN 

This  is  another  well-known  Inn  and  Camp  at  the  south- 
eastern end  of  the  Lake.  It  is  on  the  Lake  Shore  Drive 
near  to  the  State  Highway  and  close  to  Freel's  and  the  other 
mountain  peaks  of  this  group.  The  beach  in  front  of  Bijou 
is  of  clean  white  sand,  with  a  gentle  slope,  offering  excel- 
lent facilities  for  bathing. 

For  circular  address  W.  F.  Conolley,  Bijou,  Lake  Tahoe, 
Calif. 

Lakeside  Park  and  Glenwood  have  each  been  described  in 
their  respective  chapters. 

BROCKWAYS 

This  old-established  and  popular  hot-springs  resort  is  on 
the  north  end  of  the  Lake,  beautifully  situated  on  State-Line 
Point  between  Crystal  and  Agate  Bays.  The  hot  springs 
and  mineral  swimming-pool  here  have  a  tested  quality  which 
thousands  of  guests  can  testify  to,  and  they  are  annually  pat- 
ronized by  a  large  number.  The  resort  and  springs  are  un- 
der the  management  of  the  owner. 

For  circular,  address  F.  B.  Alverson,  Brockways,  Lake 
Tahoe,  Calif. 

TAHOE    VISTA 

On  the  shores  of  Agate  Bay  a  new  resort  was  started  two 
years  ago,  known  as  Tahoe  Vista.  It  has  a  modern  hotel, 
equipped  for  convenience  and  comfort. 


THE  RESORTS  AT  LAKE  TAHOE         385 

Bathing,  boating  and  fishing  in  Agate  Bay  at  Tahoe  Vista 
is  at  its  best.  The  white  sanded  beach  is  broad  and  is  safe 
to  the  smallest  child,  the  bay  being  shallow  for  a  distance 
of  five  hundred  feet  from  its  edge  and  affording  a  tempera- 
ture to  the  water  that  is  more  pleasant  than  to  be  found  at 
any  other  part  of  the  Lake. 

The  fame  of  Lake  Tahoe's  trout  fishing  is  world  re- 
nowned, and  in  Agate  Bay  that  sport  is  superior.  One  of 
the  public  fish  hatcheries  is  located  near  Tahoe  Vista,  insur- 
ing a  constant  supply  of  the  most  favored  varieties  of  game 
fish.  Twenty-five  thousand  Eastern  brook  trout  were  re- 
cently placed  in  Griff  Creek,  a  lively  little  stream  that  dances 
through  the  glens  of  Tahoe  Vista. 

To  those  who  wish  to  own  their  own  homes  on  the  Lake 
Tahoe  Vista  affords  excellent  opportunities  in  that  lots  are 
for  sale  at  moderate  rates.  A  direct  automobile  road  con- 
nects with  Truckee,  and  also  with  Tahoe  Tavern. 

For  circular  address  Manager  Hotel,  Tahoe  Vista,  Calif. 

Carnelian  Bay  and  its  attractions  are  fully  described  in  its 
own  chapter. 

TAHOE    CITY 

This  is  the  starting  and  the  ending  point  of  the  steamer 
trip  around  the  Lake.  It  is  a  historic  place,  the  first  town 
founded  on  Lake  Tahoe,  and  destined  ultimately  to  come 
into  large  importance.  There  is  a  small  hotel,  together 
with  housekeeping  cottages,  and  free  camping  facilities. 

For  full  particulars  address  Tahoe  Development  Co., 
Tahoe,  Calif. 


I 


INDEX 


Titles  of  Books  are  in  Italics. 
Book  chapters  are  in  small  capitals. 
(q)=quoted. 


Agassiz  Peak,  79,   140 
Agate  Bay,  212,  384. 
Alleghany,  341 
Alpha,  117 
Alpine  Spruce,  298 
Alta,  122,  124 

Al  Tahoe,  135,  209,  230,  231 
Alverson,  F.  B.,  384 
American    Journal    of    Science 
and  Art,  86 
River    (see   N.   &   S.    Forks), 

342 

Anderson  Peak,  109 

Angel,  Myron,  in 

Angora  Range,  84 
Lakes,  102 

Animals  and  Birds  of  T.  Re- 
gion, 301-313 

Antelope  Valley,  78 

Armstrong,  Mrs.,  224 

Auburn,  122,  125,  126,  129 

Audrian  Lake,  137,  138 

Automobile  Route,  The  Wish- 
bone, 121-142 

Baldwin,  E.  J.,  208 

Bannister,  L.  H.,  231 

Barker's   Peak,   Pass.,   etc.,    182, 

193,  194 
Basketry  Indian,  36,  37 
Bath,  126 
Bear,  311 


Bear  Creek,  81,  167,  187,  217 

Lake,  182 

River  Divide,  122 

Valley,  119,  127 
Bell,  Camp,  384 
Bigelow,  R.  L.  P.,  352 
Bigler,  Lake  Tahoe  Named,  58 
Bijou,  135,  209,  384 
Birds  and  Animals  of  T.  Re- 
gion, 301-313 
Bixby  Lake,   181 
Blackwood  Creek,  130,  183,  206, 

319 
Bliss  and  Yerlngton,  201 
Bloody  Canyon  Glacier,  98 
Bloomfield,  North,  126 
Blue  Canyon,   117,  127 
Blue  Jays,  149 
Boating,  11 
Boca,  113 

Bonpland,  Amade,  25,  56 
Bricknell  &  Kinger,  i68 
Brockways,  2i2,  384 
Brown,  Sam,  161 
Browning,  R.   (q),  146 
Buck  Island  Lake,  196,  220 
Burton,  154,  197 
Creek,  154 

California  Ditch,  181 
Camino,  140,  142 
Camping,  Free,  154 


387 


388 


INDEX 


Camping  Out  Trips  in  T.  Re- 
gion, 185-198 
Campoodie,  Indians,  28 
Carnelian  Bay  and  T.  Coun- 
try Club,  154,  212,  262- 
264 
Carson  City,  118,  161 
Falls,  134 
Kit,  IS 
Pass,  23 
River,  136 
Sink,   136 
Cascade    Lake,    89,    91,    95,    99, 
102,  134,  222,  227 
Glacier,  90 
Castle  Peak,  81 
Cathedral  Peak,  227 

Park,  209 
Cave  Rock,  i6i,  210 
Cedar,  Incense,  292 
Celios,  137 

Central  Pacific  Ry.,  122 
Chandler,  Miss  Katherine,   177, 

215 
Chaparral  of  T.  Region,  285- 

289 
Chase,  Smeaton  (q),  297 
Cheney,    John    Vance    (q),    ti8, 

(q),  211 
Chipmunk,  147 
Chips  Flat,  117 
Church,  J.  E.,  Jr.,  327   (q),  329, 

(q),  332-337 

"  Pap,"  119,  165 
Cisco,  124,  128,  129,  341 
Claraville,  119,   317 
Clement,  Ephraim,  208 
Coburn   Station    (see  Truckee), 

124 
Cohn,  A.,  37 
Cold  Stream,  109,  110 


Cole,  D.  W.,  353 

Coleman  Valley,  18 

Colfax,  117,  122,   125,  126,  129 

Colgate,  342 

Columbia  River,  16 

Colwell,  R.,  130,  195,  219,  382 

Comstock  Lode,   136 

Conolley,  W.  F.,  384 

Conroy,  Gabriel,  109 

Country  Club,  Tahoe,  263 

Crags,  The,  216 

Creeks  of  Lake  T.,  9,  79 

Crystal  Bay,  212 

Range,  79,  83  et  seq.,  138,  140, 
237 


Dalles  of  Columbia  River,  16 
Damascus,  126 
Dat-so-la-le,  36 
Deer  Creek,  162 

Park    Springs,    81,    119,    165, 
178,  187,  214-217 
Delano,  L.  P.,  265 
Desolation  Valley,  79,  83,  et  seq., 

102,   138,   140,   187 
Devil's   Playground,   119,   165 

Pulpit,  119 
De  Young,  M.  H.,  197 
Diamond  Springs,  142 
Dick,  Capt.,  224 
Digger  Pine,  291 
Donner,  341 

Creek,  113 

George,  106 

Jacob,  106 

Lake,  87,  113,  128,  106-110 
Glacier,  87 
Road,  121  et  seq. 
Downieville,  341 
Dubliss,  Mt.,  212 


INDEX 


389 


Dutch  Flat,  109,  117,  122,  125, 
126 
Swindle,  124 

Eagle  Bird,  117 

Creek,  133,  226 

Falls,  133,  208,  226 

Lake,  133,  208,  223,  225 

Point,  222 
Echo,   137,   142 

Lakes,  138 
Edgewoods,  161 
Edith  Peak,  261 
Edmonds,  Mark  W.,  350 
El  Dorado,   142 

Forest,  341 
Elevations,   125,   129,   142 
Ellis,  Jock,   159,  198 

Peak,  159,  178  et  seq. 
Emerald   Bay,    3,    72,    207,    222 
et  seq. 

AND  Camp,  208,  222-229 

Freezes,  9,  332 

Glacier,  91,  95,  222 

How  Formed,  89,  132 

Island,  223 

Legend  of,  44 
Emigrant    Gap,    106,    109,    117, 

127,  129,  341 
Road,  109,  121  et  seq.,  346 
Erosion,  Glacial,  98 
Esmeralda  Falls,  140 
Essex,  114 

Fallen  Leaf  Glacier,  89,  93 
Lake,  89,  90,  92,  93,  94,  100, 

I02,  240-250 
Lodge,   40,    135,   209,   240   et 
seq. 
Fir,  Red,  297 
Shasta,  292 


Fir,  White,  297 

Fire,   How  Indians  Got,  50 

Fish,  Hatchery,   135 

Fishing  in  Tahoe  Lakes,  266- 

276 
Five  Lakes,   165,  176,   177,   187, 
214 
Creek,  176,  177,  183,  193 
Floriston,  114,  344 
Flower  Display,  216 
Flowers  of  Tahoe  Region,  216, 

278-284 
Folsom,  142 
Forest,  341 

Conditions  in  Sierra  Nevada 

(q),  291 
Hill  Divide,   122,   126,   169 
Rangers,  187 

Tahoe  National,  341-352 
Freel's  Peak,  135,  209 
Freeport,  123 

Freezing  of  Lake  Tahoe,  9 
Fremont  and  the  Discovery  of 
Tahoe,  13-25 
Discovers  Pyramid  Lake,  19 

Truckee  River,  21,  in,  H2 
Explorations,  14,  65,  112,  320 
Howitzer  and  Lake  T.,  320- 
326 
Fulda,  341 
Fulton,  R.  L.,  114 

Gardnerville,  Legend  of,  45 
General  Creek,  197 

Electric  Co.,  342 
Genoa  Peak,  212 
Geology  of  Lake  Tahoe,  78-81 
Georgetown  Deltas,  95,  98 

Divide,  181,  196,  218,  347 

Junction,  139 
Ghirardelli's  Chocolate,  184 


390 


INDEX 


Gilmore  Lake,   102,  232 

Nathan,  232 
Glacial  History  of  T.  Region, 
82-101 

Lake  Valley,  86 
Glen  Alpine  Canyon,  90,  95,  100 

Falls,   232 

Springs,  90,  95,  135,  137,  209, 
232-239 
Glenbrook,  118,  i6i,  200  et  seg. 

210,  255-261 
Gold  Run,  117,  122,  125 
Goodyear's  Bar,  341 
Granite  Chief  Peak,  105 
Graniteville,  341 
Grant's  Crackers,   184 
Grass  Valley,  117,  122,  126 
Grecian  Bay,  4,  131,  207 
Greek  George,  175 
Grizzly  Gulch,  117 

Peak,  78 
Grove,  The,  135,  209 

Hale,  Fort,   106 

Hangtown,  142,  218 

Harte,  Bret,   109 

Hastings,  Lansford  W.,  106 

Hay  Press   Meadows,    138 

Hazlett,   Mr.,   168 

Heather  Lake,  102 

Hell  Hole,  183,  187  et  seg.,  215 

Little,  194 
Hellman,  L,  198 
Heroes  of  California,  107 
Hickey,  Frances  A.,  225 
Highland  Peak,  81 
Historic  Tahoe  Towns,  199-204 
Hobart  Mills,  129 
Holladay,  Ben,   224 
Homewood,  178,  206,  380 
Honey  Lake,  79,  80 


Hope  Valley,  136 
Hopkins,  Sarah  W.,  11 1 
Horlich's  Tablets,  &c.,  184 
Howitzer,  Fremont  and  Tahoe, 

320-326 
Humboldt  River,  24,  iii,   136 
Hunsaker  Bros.,  218 
Hydraulic  Mines,  125,  126 

Illinoistown   (see  Colfax),  122 
Incense  Cedar,  292 
Incline,  204,  212 
Independence,   106 
Indestructo  Trunk,   186 
Indians  of  Lake  Tahoe,  26-38 

How  originated,  48 

Legends  of  T.  Region,  39-55 
Innocents  Abroad   (q),  56 
Iowa  Hill,  122,  126 

Jackson,  An  Indian,  39 
Jepson,    W.    L,     (q),    292,    294, 

295,  297 
Job's  Peak,  135 

Sister  Peak,  135 
Jost,  A.  W.,  380 
Juniper,  Western,  291 

Kent  Ranger  Station,  349 
King,  Killed,  315 
Thos.    Starr    at    L.    Tahoe, 
366-372 
Kingsbury  Grade,  160 
King's  Canyon,  i6i 
Klamet  Lake,  17 
Knight,  Wm.  H.,  58  (q),  58-61 
Knox,  314 

Knoxville,  119,  167,  314  et  seg. 
Kohl,  C.  F.,  i8i,  205 
Kyburgs,  139,  142 


INDEX 


391 


Lake,  Hank  Richards',  198 
of  the  Sky,  Why  the,  1-12 
of  the  Woods,  187 
Pyramid    (see  Pyramid) 
Spaulding,  127,  342 
Tahoe   (see  Tahoe) 

Origin  of,  40 
Valley,  87 

Glacier,  86,  92,  94 
Lakes,  Lesser  of  T.  Region,  102- 

105,  198 
Lakeside  Park,   135,  210,  251- 

254 
Lassen,  Mt,  175 
Last  Chance,  341 
Latham,  Capt.  W.  W.,  210 
Lavas,  119 

Lawrence  &  Comstock,  383 
LeConte,  John,  Physical  Stud- 
ies, 63-77,  93,  95,  338 
Joseph  and  Glacial  Studies, 

80-86  et  seq. 
AT  Tahoe,  373-376 
Lake,  102 
Legends,  Indian,  of  T.  Region, 

39-55 
Leiberg,  John  B.  (q),  291,  295 
Lemmon,  J.  G.   (q),  299 
Level  of  Tahoe,  Variations  in, 

73 
Levpis  River,  16 
Lick,  James,  212 
Lily  Lake,  232 
Lincoln,  Mt.,  81,  109 
Lindgren    (q),  78,  80,  94 
Lion  Peak,  181 
Lippincotfs    (q),  118 
Logging,  118,  343 
Lola,  Mt.,  81 
Lonely  Gulch,  131 
Loon  Lake,  102 


Los  Angeles,  u6 
Lover's  Leap,  138 
Lucile  Lake,  102 
Lumbering,  118,  202 
Lyell,  Mt.,   too 

McConnell,  Mary,  205 
McGlashan,  C.  F.,  io8 

Nonette  V.,  51 
McKinney,    130,    195,    196,    198, 

206,  219,  317,   381 
McKinstry  Peak,  193 
Madden,  Dick,  Creek,  178,  319 
Maggie's  Peaks,  133,  205,  223 
Markleeville,  79,  81 
Marlette,  Lake,  162,  212 

Peak,  212 

S.  H.,  162 
Martis  Valley,  113 
Mary's  Lake,  18 
Marysville,  128 

Buttes,  175 
Meadow  Lake  Mines,  128 
Meek's  Bay,  3,  130,  207 
Mer  de  Glace,  87 
Meteor,  203 

Michigan  Bluff,  117,  126,  169 
Mildred,  Mt.,  81,  176,  190 
Miller  Creek,  197 

Joaquin     (q),    109,    117,    138, 
141,  180 
Mineral  Springs,  233 
Mining     Excitement,     Squaw 

Valley,  119,  314-319 
Moana  Villa,  130,  207,  221,  381 
Modjeska  Falls,  232 
Mono  Indians,  26 

Lake,  78,  79,  96,  97,  98 
Monona  Flat,  126 
Monument  Peak,  135,  211 
Moody,  Chas.  A.   (q),  321 


392 


INDEX 


Moraines,  82,  loi 
Mountains  of  Calif,    (q),  103 
of   T.    Region,   79,    81,    84   et 
seq. 
Muir,  John,  82,  93,  100,  103,  232, 

319 
Murphy  Bros,  and  Morgan,  381 
Murphy,  Virginia  Reed,  108 
Myers'  Station,  137 

Names,  Various  of  L.  Tahoe, 

56-62 
Napoleon's  Hat,  206 
Nevada   City,   122,   126 

History  of,  m 
Neve,  85 
Newcastle,    123 
North  Bloomfield,  126 

Fork  Am.  River,   117,   122 

Observatory,    Mt.    Rose,    327- 
331 
Point,  212 
Ogden,   116 
Omega,  117 
Overland  Monthly   (q),  63-77 

Pacific  Gas  &  Electric  Co.,  342 

House,  139,  140,  142 
Painti  Indians,  27  et  seq.,  iii 
Parsons,   Miss,  216 
Phillips,   137 
Phipps  Creek,  197 

Peak,  223 
Physical  Studies  of  L.  Tahoe, 

63-77 
Pine,  Digger,  291 
Finger  Cove,  293 
Forest  Inn,  383 
Jeffrey,  294 
Sugar,  293 


Pine,  White,  293 

Yellow,  294 
Pino  Grande  (see  The  Grove), 

141 
Placerville,  142 

Road,  121  et  seq.,  135,  136 
Pleasant  Lake,  181 
Pluto,  Mt,  79,  80,  119 
Pomin,  Capt,  317 

Wm.,  317 
Pomin's,  130,  207,  382 
Pray,  Capt.  A.  W.,  201,  325 
Preuss,  Companion  of  Fremont, 

22,  322 
Price,  W.  W.,  89 

Mrs.  W.  W.,  29,  30 
Prosser  Creek,   113 
Puberty  Dance,  31 
Public    Use   of  Waters   of   L. 

Tahoe,  hi 
Pyramid  Lake,  8,  64,  80,  113 

Discovered,    19 

Named,  20 

Peak,  78,  81,  83,  140 

Quaker  Hill,  117 

Rail,  to  Lake  Tahoe,  116-120 
Ramsay,  Mrs.  Jno.  L.,  233 
Rangers  Forest,  348  et  seq.,  363 

Station,   Kent,   349 
Raymond  Peak,  81 
Reclamation  Service,  U.  S.,  342, 

355  et  seq.,  363 
Red  Peak,  193 
Reed,  James  T.,  106 
Reid,  W.  T.,  205 
Reno,  113,  114,  n6,  123 

Water  &  Electric  Co.,  181 
Richards',  Hank,  Lake,  198 
Richardson's  Auto  Stage,  142 


INDEX 


393 


Richardson,  Barton,  233 

Peak,  237. 
Rivers  of  Tahoe,  9,  79,  113,  206, 

343 

Riverton,  139,  142 

Roads  in  Tahoe  Forest,  346 

Robinson,  L.  L.,  123 

Rock  Bound   Lakes,   182 

Rose,    Mt,    Flowers   of,   281    ei 
seq. 
Observatory,  327-331 

Roughing  It   (q),  359  et  seq. 

Round  Mound,  161 
Top,  81 

Rowlands,  209 

Rubicon  Park,  132 

Peaks,  131,  182,  197,  207 
Point,  4,  91,  96,  131,  207 
River,  182,  187,  218 
Springs,  195,  196,  218-221 
Road,  196,  218 

Sacramento,   116,   121,   122,  129, 
142,  175 

River,  24,  128 

Valley,  127 
Railroad,  123 
Salmon  Trout  River,  21,  iii 
Sallie,  Princess,  112 
Salter,  Nelson  I.,  225 
San  Buenaventura  River,  18 
Sand  Mtn.,  209 
San  Francisco,  116 

Joaquin  Valley,  ii6 
Scott  Bros.,  168 
Seiches  on  Lake  Tahoe,  73 
Sequoia  Gigantea,  348 
Shaffer's  Mills,  164 
Shakspere  Rock,  211 
Shank's  Cove,  190 
Shasta  Fir,  292 


Shasta  Mtn.,  175 
Shingle  Springs,  142 
Shooting  the  Chutes,  118 
Sierra  Valley,  79 
Silva  of  Calif.,  297 
Silver  Mtn.,  86 

Smith,     J.     W.,     on    Fremont's 
Diary,  13  ^/  seq. 

Flat,  141,  142 
Snow   Shoe  Thompson,   187 

Valley  Peak,  212 
Snyder  killed,  107 
Soda  Spring,  191 
Southern  Pacific  Ry.,  127 
South   Fork,   American   R.,    117, 

121  et  seq.,  137 
Spaulding,  Lake,  127,  342 
Spider  Lake,  102,  181 
Sportsman's  Hall,  142 
Spruce,  Alpine,  298 
Squaw  Peak,  105,  165  et  seq. 

Valley,    105,   119,   154,   165   et 
seq. 
Mining    Excitement,    314- 

319 
Stanford,    Gov.    (Steamer),  219 
Starved  Camp,  109 
State  Line  House,  210 
Steamer    Around    L.    Tahoe, 

205-213 
Strawberry,  123,  136,  137 
Sugar  Loaf,  139 

Pine  Point,  88,  93,  207 
Summer    Residence,   L.   Tahoe 

FOR,  338-340 
Summit,  125,  127,  128,  129 

Valley,  109 
Sumpter,   Fort,  172 
Sunset  Mag.,  332 
Susan   (Indian),  39 
Susie  Lake,  102 


394 


INDEX 


Sutter's  Fort,  24 
Swimming  at  Tahoe,  10 
Swinging   Bridges,   120 

Tahoe    City,    iii,    199    et    seq., 

341,  385 
Country  Club,  263   et  seq. 
and  S.  F.  Waterworks,  114 
Tahoe,     Lake,     and    Truckee 
River,  111-115 
Automobile   Route,   Wish- 
bone, 121-142 
As    A    Summer    Residence, 

338-340 
Birds  and  Animals  of,  301- 

313 

Boating  at,  ii 

Boulevard,  129  et  seq. 

By  Steamer  Around,  205- 
213 

Camping  Out  Trips,  185- 
198 

Chaparral  of  T.  Region, 
285-289 

Cheney,  J.  V.,  at,  377-379 

Climate  of,  7 

Colors  of,  2,  71 

Depth  of,  3,  65 

Discovery  of,   13,  22 

Drowned  do  not  rise  at,  69 

Feeders  of,  9 

Fishing  at,  5,  11,  266-276 

Flowers  of,  278-284 

Fremont  and  the  Discov- 
ery OF,  13-25 

Geology  of,  6,  78,  82-101 

Glacial  History  of,  82-101 

How  Formed,  78-81 

Hunting  at,  7,  297 

Indians  of,  26-38 

Indian  Legends  of,  36-55 


Tahoe,     Lake,     King,     Thos. 
Starr,  at,  366-372 
LeConte,   Joseph,   at,    373- 

376 
LeConte's  Physical  Studies 

OF,  63-77 
Levels,  Variations  of,  73 
Mark  Twain  at,   56,   359- 

363 
Mountains  of,  6 
Names,  25,  56,  58 
National   Forest,   341-352 
Never  freezes,  9,  67 
Origin  of,  40,  94 
Peculiarities  of,  8 
Physical  Culture  at,  7 
Public  Use  of  Waters  of, 

353-358 
Rail  to,  116-120 
Railway   and   Transp.    Co., 

117 
Restfulness  of,  8 
Rivers  of,  79 
Significance  of  name,  61 
Size  of,  I,  II 
Swimming  in,  10 
Temperature  of,   66 
Transparency  of,  70 
Trees  of,  290-300 
Truckee  River  and,  8,  21, 

64,   79,    81,    105,    111-115, 

116,  143,  167,  342 
Variations  of  Level,  73 
Various  Names  of,  56-62 
Why  "  Lake  of  the  Sky," 

1-16 
Winter  at,  9,  332-337 
Tavern,  hi,  120  et  seq.,  129, 

143-152,  205 
Towns,   Historic,   199-204 
Vista,  212,  384 


INDEX 


395 


Tallac,  30,  86,  135,  137,  143,  383 
House,  89,  121  et  seq.,  135,  208 
Mt.,  84,  89,  90,  92,  133,  134 

Tevis,  W.  S.,  209 

Thompson  Peak,  80 
Snow  Shoe,  187 

Tinker  Knob,  81 

Tlamath    Lake     (see    Klamat), 

17 
Tobogganing,  335 
Todd's  Valley,  126 
Towle,  127 

Towns,  Historic  Tahoe,  199-204 
Trail  Trips  in  T.  Region,  153- 
184 

Hell  Hole,  188  et  seq. 

Rubicon  River,  188  et  seq. 
Trees  of  T.  Region,  290-300 
Trolling,  267 

Trout,   Varieties  of,  366  et  seq. 
Truckee    (Indian),   in 

(Town),  123  et  seq.,  128,  129, 

337 

Canyon  Glacier,  87,  97 

Little  River,  113,  342 
Twain,  Mark,  i,  56 
Twelve  Mile  Creek,  18 

Van  Sickle,  160 
Velma  Lakes,   133 
Verdi,  113,  114 


Virginia  City,  122,  123,  136,  138 
Von  Schmidt,  A.  W.,  114,  i66 

Wadsworth,  m,  113,  125 
Ward  Creek,  130,  206 

Peak,  216 

Valley,  79 
Washoe  Indians,  26  et  seq.,  192 
Water,  Public  Uses  of  Tahoe, 

353-358 
Watson  Canyon,  106 

Lake,  154  et  seq.,  162 

Mtn.,  106,  150,  154  et  seq.,  158 

Robt.,   Dedication,   150 
Webber  Lake,  81,  113 
Whisky  Creek,  176 
White  Pine,  293 
Wigwam  Inn,  167 
Winnemucca,  in 

Sarah,  in 
Wisconsin  Hill,  126 
Woods,  Lake  of  the,  187 
Wright,  Wm.,  324 

Yankee  Jim,  125,  126 

Yanks,  208 

Yerington  &  Bliss,  201 

Yew,  292 

You  Bet,  117 

Yuba,  117 

Forest  Reserve,   341 


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